John Eliot Gardiner with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, which he founded in 1964.
In Wednesday’s (7/24) Associated Press, an unsigned report states, “Renowned British conductor John Eliot Gardiner said Wednesday he is quitting the orchestra he has led for six decades, almost a year after he allegedly hit a singer backstage after a concert. Gardiner said he was stepping down as leader and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra ‘with a heavy heart.’ Gardiner, 81, allegedly hit William Thomas after the bass singer left the podium on the wrong side following a performance of Berlioz’s opera ‘Les Troyens’ at the Festival Berlioz … in southeastern France in August 2023. Gardiner withdrew from all his engagements soon afterwards, saying he was stepping back to get ‘the specialist help I recognize that I have needed for some time.’ He said Wednesday that he had ‘done a great deal of soul searching … and have apologized repeatedly and unreservedly for losing control in such an inappropriate fashion…. I have reached the conclusion that the best way forward for both myself and for the MCO is to accept that a clear change in our relationship is necessary now for the good of both parties,’ he said…. The choir and orchestra’s board said Gardiner’s ‘extraordinary musical influence over the past 60 years has made a lasting impact.’ ”
