Till deaf us do part: wedding singers so loud our guests blocked their ears

A newlywed is suing an opera company she hired to sing at her wedding reception after claiming their "painful" performance ruined the day and even made one guest feel sick.

Virginia Routh, a lifelong opera fan, paid company Soprano Bella £2,500 for three opera singers to perform at her wedding to Alan Lynch at Chandos House in the West End in September last year.

However, Ms Routh, 75, claimed the performance was "ruined" by over-amplification and that the loudness forced guests to cover their ears and even left one feeling ill.

Soprano Bella claimed their singers have all "played a lead role in either a major West End show or have performed with one of the UK's top opera companies, making them one of the best in their field".

The company specialises in providing singers dressed as waiters who make an announcement before breaking into song.

Testimonials on the website include one from Michael Schumacher, the former Formula 1 champion, who thanked "three surprise sopranos" at his retirement party "for making a night that was so special to me even more special".

The company's fee for Ms Routh's wedding included a £250 supplement to hire one of the company's own sound technicians to help ensure a perfect performance.

But today Ms Routh took the firm to Hertford county court to try to claim back the cost of the performance. In her writ, Ms Routh condemned the ear-splitting performance as "painful" and a "disaster".

She said: "Soprano Bella's performance can only be described as a disaster. One of my guests, who had come all the way from Germany, was so appalled that he stuck both fingers in his ears. My sister-in-law, Caroline Raphael, who is a devoted opera fan and friend of Covent Garden, left the room because the over-amplified sound made her feel physically sick.

"It was more than just an embarrassment, it spoilt what should have been a very happy occasion for me and all my guests."

Ms Routh also claimed that Soprano Bella failed to carry out any sound checks prior to the performance and said that when one of the guests complained the technician turned the sound down but raised it again.

Soprano Bella director Shaun Turner said: "I believe it was a difficult venue. It was spread across two rooms and it's very, very difficult to please everyone all at the same time. But I believe the claims are also vastly exaggerated and with regards to the sound, obviously sound is something that's quite relative - one person's loud is another person's quiet."

Ms Routh's decision to go to court follows advice she received from the Guardian's Consumer Champions column in November last year.

According to the column, who contacted Soprano Bella, Mr Turner claimed "Pavarotti himself" would not have satisfied his client. He also claimed that staff at Chandos House, which costs more than £4,000 to hire, said Ms Routh was difficult - which the wedding venue denied.

The advice concluded: "It seems if you want a refund, you will have to go to court."