Wendy White, the Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano who was hospitalized after an eight-foot fall when a piece of scenery broke during a December 2011 performance as Marthe in Gounod’s “Faust,†is suing the Met for damages as a result of the accident. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday, but the Met will not be served with papers until Monday, Ms. White’s lawyer, Martin Edelman said on Friday afternoon.
Ms. White, a veteran singer who sang more than 500 performances at the Met since she made her debut as Flora in “La Traviata†in 1989, has waited so long to file her suit, her lawyer said, because she had hoped to recover her health and resume her career.
“However,†Mr. Edelman said, “she has recently undergone examinations that show that, if anything, she’s getting worse. She has nerve damage, and she is unable to sustain notes, and she has problem standing for long periods - all the physical requirements necessary to perform in an opera.â€
Mr. Edelman asserted that the Met’s own investigation into the accident showed that the platform collapsed because it had been held together with a window hinge instead of a heftier piece of hardware.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for medical care, loss of wages and pain and suffering, which Mr. Edelman points out is acute in the case of a singer who suddenly finds herself unable to perform, since her identity and self image are, to a great degree, bound up in her work. The suit does not seek a specific amount.
A spokesman for the Met could not be reached on Friday afternoon, and a message left with the company’s press department was not immediately returned.
