At a performance of Frozen in Italy, children in the audience were told that Santa may not be real.
On Thursday the show's conductor Giacomo Loprieno appeared to reach the Christmas-Disney saccharin breaking point.
After leading a musical adaptation of the 2013 animated hit, Loprieno turned to the audience of mostly families and young children to declare:
Anyway, Santa Claus doesn't exist.
Understandably, parents' reactions were less than favourable to the Italian star.
According to one parent who wrote on the Disney in concert Facebook page, Loprieno specifically requested the microphone at the end of the performance, in order to make his special announcement.
Attendees were perhaps already feeling prickly given that the ticket price for adults and children had been steep and set at the same amount despite it being a show which had been marketed for children.
Tickets in the Italian tour sold by ticketone.it (the retailer promoted by Dimensione Eventi) cost between 28.75 and 34.50 euros each, depending on the venue within Italy.
Some comments came to the defence of Loprieno. Laurence Faust wrote on theDimensione Eventi hosted event page:
He was telling the truth.
According to Italy news TGCOM 24, Loprieno was replaced as conductor for the remainder of the concerts planned for January.
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