MFoxy9795@a... wrote:
MFoxy9795@a... wrote:
> years ago when i lived in England i saw a performance of Carmina Burana from
> London (may have been broadcasted live, i don't remember.) one of the male
> soloists fainted in the middle of it. a man in one of the first few rows
> said he knew the part, so they threw a tux on him and he got up and did it!
Yes! That was Thomas Allen who fainted in the middle of the Prom
concert. The substitute was Patrick McCarthy, but it didn't exactly
assure him of a glittering career - he got through the part but he
wasn't all that brilliant, to be honest. Seems to have sunk without
trace.
My best memory of it was actually from a Prom concert the following
year. One of the big features of the Proms is the calling that happens
from the promenade sections (the central arena and occasionally the
gallery right at the top of the hall) - best known being the
"Heeeeeeeave!" as they move a piano on to the stage for a concerto.
On this particular night there was a flash flood in London and the
principal flute from the BBC Symphony (now, for some reason, I can
remember her name, Elaine Messiter) was caught in traffic but in contact
with the hall, so they decided to wait for her. And wait. And wait. They
were starting with the Midsummer Night's Dream music, so every woodwind
player was needed. When eventually she did arrive, she got an ovation
normally reserved for an international superstar. But during the wait, a
big cry came up from the arena: "Can Patrick McCarthy play the flute?"
Cheers
Linda
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