Musician sues Royal Opera House over ruined hearing

[Guest]

It'll be interesting to see the outcome of this case.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35938704

I've got a list of baritones (wonderful instruments, it must be said!) and tenors all taller than me who bellow into my (usually) right ear, but nothing on this level!

Any thoughts?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Any thoughts?

It's after midday.

[doversoul1]

Here’s The Guardian’s version (much the same, I assume)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/01/musician-sues-royal-opera-house-loss-hearing-chris-goldscheider

What puzzles me is that this is about one particular incident/rehearsal and not the damage from the prolonged exposure to loud sound. Was this Walküre played differently in some way? All that besides, it must be awful for a musician to lose his hearing.

Moreover, according to Goldscheider’s lawyer, it [the ROH] claims that the social value of the performance means that potential damage to players’ hearing is an acceptable risk.

How common is this policy/attitude in orchestras, if it is true?

[Nevilevelis]

Here’s The Guardian’s version (much the same, I assume)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/01/musician-sues-royal-opera-house-loss-hearing-chris-goldscheider

What puzzles me is that this is about one particular incident/rehearsal and not the damage from the prolonged exposure to loud sound. Was this Walküre played differently in some way? All that besides, it must be awful for a musician to lose his hearing.

Moreover, according to Goldscheider’s lawyer, it [the ROH] claims that the social value of the performance means that potential damage to players’ hearing is an acceptable risk.

How common is this policy/attitude in orchestras, if it is true?

I don't know, on either count, Dovers. The phrase about 'social value' seems extraordinary to me. If a singer or actor brakes a limb during reh. or a performance is this the line they take? Surely not!

[David-G]

"... said the condition had brought an end to a glittering career. His client had played on stage with Kylie Minogue and live with the Three Tenors in front of 100,000 people in Barcelona."

These are evidently more glittering than playing in the ROH Orchestra.

[visualnickmos]

'Can of worms' comes to mind...

[visualnickmos]

'Can of worms' comes to mind...

I know, I know... who's going to say Earworms!?

[Nevilevelis]

"... said the condition had brought an end to a glittering career. His client had played on stage with Kylie Minogue and live with the Three Tenors in front of 100,000 people in Barcelona."

These are evidently more glittering than playing in the ROH Orchestra.

Indeed, but not as dangerous as the pit, it would seem.

[GrahamH]

Here’s The Guardian’s version (much the same, I assume)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/01/musician-sues-royal-opera-house-loss-hearing-chris-goldscheider

What puzzles me is that this is about one particular incident/rehearsal and not the damage from the prolonged exposure to loud sound. Was this Walküre played differently in some way? All that besides, it must be awful for a musician to lose his hearing.

Moreover, according to Goldscheider’s lawyer, it [the ROH] claims that the social value of the performance means that potential damage to players’ hearing is an acceptable risk.

How common is this policy/attitude in orchestras, if it is true?

Also in that article:
According to Fry, the ROH has employed a barrister to draft a legal defence under section 1 of the 2006 Compensation Act, which allows for some health and safety rules to be relaxed if they might “prevent a desirable activity from being undertaken”.

If true I find it quite shocking that this defence would be used in this way. I have no idea what the Act says but cannot believe it was intended to cover this sort of injury.

Also, are they talking about this particular performance (rehearsal) of this specific piece of music?. If so, who gets to decide whether a specific piece of music or a particular performance of it has any social value? Or possibly where it is played: does a performance at the ROH have more social value than one in a more humble venue?!

A can of worms indeed, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

[Petrushka]

What puzzles me is that this is about one particular incident/rehearsal and not the damage from the prolonged exposure to loud sound. Was this Walküre played differently in some way?

This puzzles me too. It would need serious and prolonged exposure to loud sound to cause hearing damage. Walküre isn't that heavy on the brass compared to much else in Wagner. Act 1 is fairly lightly scored and Act 2 has long quiet stretches. Act 3 has a good deal more for the heavy brass. It would be interesting to know why this rehearsal for this opera has been singled out.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Often musicians have only themselves to blame for this. I always wear Alpine ear plugs when I play in an orchestra that's likely to play very loud music. But other playing colleagues seem to think it's macho to do without.

[mahlerei]

Ahem, look at the date on that story...

[Flosshilde]

Just because it's published on the 1st of April doesn't mean it's an April Fool.

[Petrushka]

Ahem, look at the date on that story...

The story has appeared on a number of sites and is still there. If it's an April Fool joke then it doesn't seem to be in particularly good taste.

[Flosshilde]

It was also on Radio 4 news.

And a comment on Norman Lebrecht's version says, in response to someone who thought it was an AFJ, "Sorry, this story seems quite genuine. Chris’s son Ben has already been in the news as a first class horn player"

http://slippedisc.com/2016/04/violist-sues-royal-opera-house-for-loss-of-hearing/#comments