A member of the GB News audience has launched a fierce attack on Glyndebourne Festival Opera's choice to attach a content warning to Mozart's classic work The Marriage of Figaro, denouncing the move as "anti-art".
During an appearance on Free Speech Nation, the viewer expressed concern that every opera might eventually carry such advisories.
"I think it's anti-Mozart, anti-art, anti-opera. Aren't we going to broaden our horizons and be provoked, stimulated or shocked?" the audience member declared.
The passionate critique prompted a light-hearted response from GB News presenter Josh Howie, who quipped: "I wish I had issued a trigger warning before you said all that.
The audience member expressed shock at the decision
|GB NEWS
The viewer's comments reflect growing debate over whether classical performances require content advisories.
The festival organisers have cautioned audiences about "imbalances of power between masters and servants" featured in the production.
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Their advisory specifically highlights that lower-status characters face "unwanted sexual advances and physically aggressive behaviour" throughout the performance.
The comprehensive content notice addresses the opera's exploration of power dynamics between social classes and genders.
Glyndebourne's warning accompanies the production which ran from 29 June through to 21 August, with ticket prices reaching £285.
The advisory represents part of a growing pattern across British theatrical venues, following similar notices at other prestigious institutions.
Last year, attendees at the London Coliseum received warnings about "alcohol misuse" and "mild violence" before watching Pirates of Penzance, whilst the Royal Shakespeare Company cautioned audiences about multiple elements in their adaptation of The Red Shoes.
Mozart's 1786 masterpiece centres on the wedding preparations of two servants, Figaro and Susanna, who work for Count and Countess Almaviva.
The Mozart classic has been slapped with a trigger warning
|GB NEWS
The plot revolves around the Count's attempts to seduce Susanna, sparking Figaro's determination to exact revenge on his employer before the couple ultimately wed.
French director Mariame Clément helmed this year's interpretation at the East Sussex venue.
The production joins a growing list of classical works receiving content advisories, including the English National Opera's warnings for Pirates of Penzance and the RSC's extensive cautions for their Hans Christian Andersen adaptation.
The RSC alerted theatregoers to expect "stage blood, derogatory language, scenes of grief and physical cruelty" alongside "a touch of scary magic" and technical elements including "haze, loud music and flashing lights".
The audience member was scathing
|GB NEWS
Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, who chairs the Common Sense group, condemned the decision as evidence that "even opera has become infected with liberal bourgeois prejudices".
"One could easily dismiss this as comic, and indeed of course Mozart did write many [comic operas]," Mr Hayes told The Telegraph.
He added that the warning demonstrated "a paucity of understanding which ill fits an organisation as previously revered as Glyndebourne".
Glyndebourne has defended its approach, with a representative stating that numerous attendees "found the information helpful".
The venue explained that content guidance has become standard practice in performing arts, enabling audiences to make educated decisions, particularly those unfamiliar with specific works or interpretations.
"By design, the guidance is easy to scroll past for those who don't find it relevant," the spokesperson noted.