- Bantcho Bantchevsky
Bantcho Bantchevsky (also "Bancho Banchevsky" or "Bancho Banchevski"; _bg. Банчо Банчевски; 1906 –
January 23 1988 ) was aBulgaria n-born Americansinger , singing coach, and translator. He is remembered today primarily for his death, asuicide which took place at theMetropolitan Opera inNew York City during a nationally-broadcast performance.Life
Bantchevsky was born in
Lovech , and had little formal musical training in his youth. Village cultural life, which centered around traditional singing and dancing, inspired him to attend theSofia Conservatory , where he learned to play theflute andpiano and studiedopera .Bantchevsky found a career for himself performing on Rakovska Street in
Sofia , known as "Bulgaria's Broadway", and became well-known during the 1930s; however, he chose to leave Bulgaria when it became an ally of theSoviet Union duringWorld War II . He spent the 1940s finding work aroundEurope , singing opera in Czechoslovakia andVienna , and becoming a member of theDon Cossack Choir Serge Jaroff . He also appeared in films and plays inBerlin , including a small part in a performance of "Macbeth ". Early in the 1950s, he emigrated to the United States.Bantchevsky found it difficult to gain stage work in New York, as he found himself competing against younger, native-born performers. He turned instead to coaching, also writing political
satire forRadio Free Europe . A polyglot — he spoke German, French, Italian, and Russian in addition to English and his native Bulgarian — he would also translate material for visiting opera singers. In this way he met singers such asAnna Tomowa-Sintow andLuciano Pavarotti . He also sang in the choir of New York'sBulgarian Orthodox Church .Bantchevsky was a great fan of the opera, and was a regular at the Metropolitan. He usually sat in the orchestra seats, using tickets which he had been given by friends who worked in the company.
At the time of his death, Bantchevsky lived alone. He was survived by two children and four grandchildren, who lived in Europe.
Death
Bantchevsky had been in failing health for some time, and friends noticed that he was less cheerful than usual. Three weeks before his death, he suffered a small heart attack, but checked out of the hospital after a week.
On
January 23 1988 , Bantchevsky attended a Saturdaymatinee performance ofGiuseppe Verdi 's "Macbeth"; unusually, he chose to sit in the balcony seats. Witnesses later recalled that he caused some disturbances not long after the performance began.At around 3:30 in the afternoon, during the
intermission between the second and third acts, Bantchevsky went to the balcony railing and sat down on it. When an usher approached and requested that he remove himself, he tipped over backwards and fell into the orchestra seats. His head hit on another railing on the way down, and he fell into an aisle with part of a broken seat on top of him. He was pronounced dead by the time the police arrived; themedical examiner later ruled his death a suicide. The audience was kept waiting for over an hour before being informed of what had happened, and the remainder of the performance was canceled.As it was a Saturday afternoon, the opera was being broadcast worldwide as part of the Metropolitan's broadcast series. Peter Allen was later commended by many observers for keeping up an impressive, nearly entirely improvised, string of commentary during the extended intermission.
Bantchevsky's was the first suicide to occur in the audience during a performance, and to date remains the only such incident in the company's history.
References
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3D9103DF937A15752C0A96E948260&scp=60&sq=January+24%2C+1988&st=nyt "Opera Patron Dies... at the Met", "The New York Times", 24 January 1988] retrieved May 4, 2008
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=940DE2DB153FF936A15752C0A96E948260 "METRO DATELINES; Man's Death at Opera Is Called a Suicide", "The New York Times", 25 January 1988] retrieved December 1, 2006
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=940DE1D81530F93AA15752C0A96E948260 Stacey Okun, "Opera Coach Died in His 'House of Worship", "The New York Times", 29 January 1988] retrieved December 1, 2006
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