John Eliot Gardiner has pulled out of the BBC Proms following an alleged assault on bass singer Will Thomas after a performance of Berlioz opera Les Troyens at the Berlioz Festival at La Côte-Saint-André in France on Tuesday.

Reports of the assault were made to online blog Slipped Disc and confirmed by Radio France that Gardiner confronted Thomas, angry that he had left the podium on the wrong side. When backstage out of sight of the audience, Gardiner slapped Thomas and punched him in the face.

Gardiner, 80, who conducts the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, was said to have been affected by the 'extreme heat' and other suggestions about a change in his medication influencing his behaviour. A source told Slipped Disc that he had 'left immediately for London to see his doctor' with further performances conducted by his assistant Dinis Sousa.

He has withdrawn from the remainder of the tour to Salzburg, Versailles, Berlin and at the BBC Proms, with a statement from the BBC saying Gardiner has: 'decided to withdraw from the performance of [Berlioz's] The Trojans at this year's BBC Proms.'

The singer, Will Thomas's agency Askonas Holt also made a statement: ‘We can confirm that an incident took place after Tuesday's performance of Berlioz's Les Troyens with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir at La Côte-Saint-André. Bass William Thomas is looking forward to continuing the tour with performances in Salzburg, Versailles, Berlin and at the BBC Proms, and will not be making a statement at this time. All musicians deserve the right to practise their art in an environment free from abuse or physical harm.’

Past misconduct

This isn't the first reported incident of physical misconduct from Gardiner. Reports of an assault on a trumpeter in the LSO came in 2014, reported by Private Eye. Other sources told Opera Now of Gardiner's 'bad temper', stating he's 'always on the edge of aggression'.

A number of individuals have spoken out on Twitter about past experiences with Gardiner in response to his departure from the Proms with allegations of misconduct that stretch back decades.

Writing in the Spectator earlier this year, Richard Bratby referred to Gardiner's reputation within the early music scene: 'The early music scene is close-knit: speak to veterans and almost without fail, they have a "Jiggy" horror story. One told me they’d struggled to sleep after working with him. Another talked of "a dictatorship" that "tramples on people’s values".'

Bratby's article came as a response to the BAFTA award-winning film, Tár, in which a renowned conductor, played by Cate Blanchett, sees a sustained fall from power following acts of misconduct, including a physical assault of another conductor on stage.

In spite of the allegations, Gardiner has continued to see success with his Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, including a performance at the Coronation of King Charles III in May.