The famous British conductor John Eliot Gardiner, 80, announced on Thursday that he was abandoning all his commitments planned for this year and seeking psychological help after he, according to media reports, hit a young singer at a festival in France in late August. .
Considered one of the pioneers of the Baroque revival, the octogenarian has been at the heart of a scandal since British media claimed that he had slapped the lyrical singer William Thomas on the grounds that the latter would have left the stage on the wrong side at La Côte-Saint-André, in the south-east of France.
“I am taking a step back to get the specialist help that I have recognized I have needed for some time,” he said in a statement. “I would like to apologize to my colleagues who felt mistreated and to anyone who might feel disappointed by my decision to take time to resolve my problems,” he added, saying he had “the heart “broken to have caused so much distress.”
The multi-award-winning conductor, who notably performed at the coronation of Charles III, had already been withdrawn from a performance in September of the legendary Proms classical music festival in London.
The incident in question would have occurred on August 22 after a performance of Les Troyens at the Berlioz festival, a composer of whom John Eliot Gardiner is considered a specialist. Relatives quoted in British media cited the high heat and a change in medical treatment to explain the reaction of the reputedly difficult conductor, who had described himself as ‘impatient’ in interviews.
