In a seriously strange and somewhat Halloween-appropriate bit of news, New York's Metropolitan Opera came to a grinding halt this weekend after an audience member sprinkled cremated human remains onto the orchestra.
The incident took place on Saturday (October 29) and prompted a terror scare in the process. After a man spread human ashes onto the Met orchestra, the opera house was evacuated during the afternoon performance, and the evening show that night was cancelled as well, in effect putting a serious kink in thousands of operagoers' plans.
According to the New York Times, the man who spread the ashes is a Texas opera buff named Roger Kaiser, who has reportedly been dispersing the ashes of a friend, described as an "opera mentor," at opera houses across the U.S.
"This guy is not a bad guy," an police official said. "He's really just a friend who lost his friend and is following out his wishes."
While it was initially unclear if the powdery substance sprinkled on the musicians was in fact human remains, lab tests have proven it to indeed be human ashes.
As of press time, the police have yet to determine if charges will be pressed against Kaiser.
The incident took place on Saturday (October 29) and prompted a terror scare in the process. After a man spread human ashes onto the Met orchestra, the opera house was evacuated during the afternoon performance, and the evening show that night was cancelled as well, in effect putting a serious kink in thousands of operagoers' plans.
According to the New York Times, the man who spread the ashes is a Texas opera buff named Roger Kaiser, who has reportedly been dispersing the ashes of a friend, described as an "opera mentor," at opera houses across the U.S.
"This guy is not a bad guy," an police official said. "He's really just a friend who lost his friend and is following out his wishes."
While it was initially unclear if the powdery substance sprinkled on the musicians was in fact human remains, lab tests have proven it to indeed be human ashes.
As of press time, the police have yet to determine if charges will be pressed against Kaiser.
