“As we were exiting the building, I noticed the counterterrorism unit going into the building.” “Everybody kind of slowly walked out,” said Dylan Hayden of Toronto. The Met canceled Saturday night’s performance of L’Italiana in Algeri, another Rossini opera, because of the investigation.Īudience members at Guillaume Tell described confusion as the intermission went on longer than usual.Ī Met representative at first announced that a technical issue was causing the delay, then returned a few minutes later to announce that the fourth act would not be performed. Police initially said one person at the opera house requested medical attention. We hope that they will not bring their ashes with them.” Met General Manager Peter Gelb said, “We appreciate opera lovers coming to the Met. Miller said the disposal of ashes at an opera house may violate city codes, but “I don’t believe at this point that we see any criminal intent here.” Police know who the man is and are reaching out to him, Miller said, adding that the man does not live in New York. He said the powder will be tested, but the possibility that it was in fact human ashes “is certainly an area that we are pursuing.” The Met canceled the remainder of the show, citing a 'technical issue.' While the Met did not provide an exact count of the audience, they told the WSJ that the 4,000-capacity room was 'Well sold.Miller said the man was in front of the first row of seats when he sprinkled the powder into the orchestra pit during the second intermission when most of the musicians were not present. Police are still seeking to interview the individual, the WSJ said. Witnesses at the scene who spoke to the man reported that he said the powder was the ashes of his mentor who wanted them to spread in the pit. The incident happened during the show’s second intermission, and no musicians were in the pit at the time, police said. Lee Jones told the Journal that custodial crew members removed the substance, which is now being tested. NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) - Saturday's performance “Guillaume Tell” by the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York was evacuated after a man threw an unknown white powder into the orchestra pit.Īccording to the Wall Street Journal, police are investigating the incident in which a man was seen tossing small amounts of a powdery substance into the orchestra pit and then fleeing the scene.

Met opera powder