Musician wins £750,000 after suing Royal Opera House for hearing loss

The Royal Opera House has lost a legal challenge against a viola player who sued over career-ending hearing damage caused during a loud rehearsal.

Christopher Goldscheider suffered ‘acoustic shock’ in September 2012 after sitting in front of an 18-strong brass section in the orchestra pit despite wearing earplugs for much of the rendition.

The opera house lost a Court of Appeal challenge today after previously being sued for £750,000 for breaching noise at work regulations.

Mr Goldscheider, 45, was forced to end his musical career and is unable to find other forms of work as a result of his symptoms, including hearing loss.

Not only has he given up playing music, he says he can’t even listen to it anymore.

The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation which runs the prestigious venue said losing its appeal could have ‘damaging’ and ‘disturbing implications’ for life music in England and Wales, but judges dismissed their fears.

Lord Justice McCombe said: ‘I simply do not accept that this cataclysmic scenario represents a proper understanding of the consequences of this decision.

‘The national and international reputation of the Royal Opera House is not and should not be affected by this judgement.’

He said the problems leading up to Mr Goldscheider’s injury were ‘all foreseeable and reasonably preventable’ and said it made no difference if the noise was deliberate or an unwanted by-product.

At the initial hearing in March last year, Lady Justice Nicola Davies ruled in favour of Mr Goldscheider from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, on the grounds of breach of duty and causation of injury.

Mr Goldscheider’s lawyers said his hypersensitivity to noise caused by the loud rehearsal of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle had ‘seriously diminished his life in all significant respects’

At the initial hearing, lawyers for the Royal Opera House said the ruling failed to distinguish between a noisy factory and one of the greatest artistic institutions in the world for whom ‘noise’ was a product.

Royal Opera House lawyers previously told the court that possible precautions would involve ‘very significant cost for a very limited gain.’

They said extending the orchestra pit into the auditorium would cost £1.3 million with an annual loss of £2 million in revenue while reduction in sound levels for a viola player would be ‘negligible.’

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