Wedding opera singers 'made guests physically sick'

A couple who claimed their wedding was ruined by opera singers whose performance was so loud they caused a guest to feel physically sick and others to leave or block their ears have received a £1,500 out of court settlement. Lifelong opera fans Virginia, 76, and Alan Lynch, 75, paid Soprano Bella £2,500 for three opera singers to perform at their wedding in London's exclusive Chandos House in September 2010. The fee included a £250 supplement to hire one of the company's own sound technicians to help ensure a "perfect performance." Soprano Bella, which claims their all their singers have appeared in West End shows or performed with opera companies, use singers dressed as waiting staff and chefs who burst into song.

But Mrs Lynch said her special day was ruined when the singers, who she had asked to perform operatic classics such as Nessun Dorma and My Fair Lady, also broke into an Abba medley making it sound more like a "rock concert." Her sister-in-law, Caroline Raphael left the room because the over-amplified sound made her feel physically sick. Guest Dr Volkhardt Freitag, a music professor who had travelled from Germany, said: "I finally decided to protect my ears by shutting them with my hands."


Photo from here.

Another wedding guest John Auckland, who runs an electronics company, said he went to the mixing desk to turn the sound down when he saw the effect it was having on the guests but the sound man promptly turned it up again. In her writ, Ms Routh condemned the ear-splitting performance as 'painful' and a 'disaster.' Chandos House's wedding planner Amy Franks later backed the couple's claims and said she would not be using Soprano Bella in the future. After failing to receive a refund the couple, who live in Marylebone, central London, took the company to Hertford County Court.

Company co-director Mr Murphy then offered Mrs Lynch a £1,000 as for the "alleged poor quality sound" and she responded saying she would accept £1,500. District Judge David Enyon ratified the agreement saying: "In my judgement it is a compromise of the claim, in terms of these emails it is quite clear that the claimant thought the apology was not sufficient but it is clear to me that the compromise is now accepted." Mr Murphy paid £1,785 to the Lynch's, including the couple's £285 legal costs. Mrs Lynch said she was "perfectly happy" with receiving a refund and added: "This was not about the money it was about how rude they were after we complained."