Audience boos as Royal Opera head of music valiantly steps in for sick tenor

30 January 2026, 10:59

Richard Hetherington bravely took to the stage, as tenor Roberto Alagna fell ill during the second act.

There was a bit more drama than usual at the Royal Opera House earlier this week, when the Royal Opera’s head of music heroically stepped in mid‑performance during Puccini’s Turandot.​

French tenor Roberto Alagna, singing the role of Calàf, became ill after the second act. With no understudy available, Richard Hetherington, head of music at the Royal Opera, took to the stage after an extended interval, during which the show was rejigged substantially.

Act III started after Calàf’s famous aria ‘Nessun dorma’, which was omitted, and the show was curtailed early. Hetherington sang Calàf’s remaining lines from the wings, while choreologist Tatiana Novaes Coelho acted the role on stage.

Some audience members reportedly booed when it became evident that the show was going on without ‘Nessun dorma’, while others left the theatre early.

Read more: Young opera fan stands up during soprano’s Verdi performance to sing tenor part

However, others were more sympathetic. Writer Kenan Malik said on X that the show had a “disappointing, dramatic and a strangely appropriate ending all at the same time,” saying it was “hugely brave and impressive of Hetherington to step in.”

The company offered 50% of the ticket price to its disappointed audience. An RBO spokeswoman told The Times, “Roberto Alagna was taken unwell during yesterday evening’s performance of Turandot, which prevented him from completing Act III. We wish Roberto a swift and full recovery.”

Richard Hetherington studied at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio and joined the Royal Opera’s music staff in 2001, becoming head of music in 2017.

It’s not the first time a capeless hero has had to take over at the last minute. In 2006, Alagna himself was booed off the stage during Verdi’s Aïda, forcing his understudy, Antonello Palombi, to replace him mid-scene without time to change into a costume.