Soprano Angela Gheorghiu interrupted the third Act of a performance of “Tosca” on Sunday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul.

Per a report from the Korean Times, the soprano was upset that Korean tenor Alfred Kim was asked to give an encore of “E lucevan le stelle.” The soprano walked onstage and did the utmost to stop conductor Jee Joong-bae before eventually stating outloud, “Excuse me. It’s a performance. It’s not a recital. Respect me.”

The opera continued thereafter. She did not come out at curtain call but when escorted onstage by bass-baritone Samuel Youn, she was met with boos from the audience and ran off.

“We haven’t heard any further statements or explanations from her about this incident. We have officially filed a complaint with her management company and have formally requested an apology from Gheorghiu. We are currently awaiting her response and will determine our next steps based on her reply,” said an official from the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts per the report.

Gheorghiu pulled a similar stunt back in 2016, delaying a performance of “Tosca” when tenor Jonas Kaufmann took the spotlight with an encore of his own in “E lucevan le stelle.” Per the Korean Times, at the time of this incident, Kaufmann was force to apologize for the incident.

¿Soy yo, o siempre es un buen momento para recordar aquel día en que Angela Gheorghiu dejó tirado a Jonas Kaufmann en mitad de “Tosca”? pic.twitter.com/hyNEg6nJUw

— Aitor Merino Martínez (@aitor_mmartinez) September 8, 2024