Opera boss SACKED after storming on stage at Disney-themed show and telling kids ‘Santa isn’t real’
The orchestra leader got the hump after families began leaving the show early to beat the crowds
SMALL children watching a stage show of Disney's Frozen in Italy had their Christmas ruined - after the conductor of the orchestra told them Father Christmas WASN'T REAL.
Giacomo Loprieno was apparently driven into a fit of rage after families started leaving the performance early in a bid to beat the queues exiting Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica.
The outburst, which happened on Thursday night, left parents stunned and small children in tears.
The Disney spectacular cost families between 30 and 48 Euros a ticket.
The leader's remarks led to dozens of complaints from furious parents and a public backlash on social media - causing the event's organisers, Dimensione Eventi, to distance themselves from what he'd said.
“Like everyone, we were shocked by the declaration made by the director. What he said was totally out of line. It was the arbitrary action of one person,” they said in a statement.
“He vented his frustration on the most innocent beings in the world – children,” one parent wrote on the web page of the event organisers.
Another parent accused the director of “ruining the dreams of little kids of five and six years old, without any plausible reason.”
The orchestra leader was replaced by another director for the next show, which took place on Friday.
The organisers quickly posted a photograph of the new conductor, Marco Dallara, embracing a bearded man dressed as Father Christmas outside the auditorium, and tried to make up for the ill-tempered outburst by having the performer, dressed in his Santa Claus outfit, sit in the audience for Friday afternoon’s show.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368