Following a physical assault on one of the singers in August, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra has decided to cut ties with its founder. The board of directors of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra announced that Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor and founder of the Monteverdi Choir, will not return to the organization.
Gardiner stepped away from public musical activity after assaulting bass singer William Thomas following a performance of Les Troyens at the Berlioz Festival in La Côte-Saint-André, France, this past August. In a statement earlier this year, Gardiner said: “The August incident is something for which I take full responsibility and deeply regret.”
Over the past year, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra considered a rehabilitation process in accordance with the ensemble’s professional policies. In a February statement, the group said: “Our shared aim is for [Gardiner] to return to lead the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra later in the year.” The organization also stated that the recent Best Choir Award at the 2024 Opera Awards was “a worthy tribute to John Eliot’s lifetime of professional work.”
In a press release, the organization acknowledged Gardiner’s “extraordinary musical impact” and stated: “The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra is grateful for his immense contributions and remains deeply committed to preserving these remarkable achievements. The organization is proud to have supported his long and distinguished career alongside many other musicians. The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra takes its responsibility to support victims of abuse and misconduct seriously and prioritizes preventing such incidents from happening again.”
This year, the ensemble has performed internationally under the direction of Dinis Sousa, Jonathan Sells, and Peter Whelan, including Beethoven symphonies in London and Paris, Bach motets in Leipzig, and Handel’s Israel in Egypt at the Salzburg Festival. The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra has announced that it will introduce new leadership for its upcoming season at the end of the summer.