Bulgarian fans and organizers are joining efforts to claim legal damages from star violinist, Vanessa Mae, after she subjected local audience to humiliation.

Mae was met with boos and hisses when she finally emerged on stage at the National Palace of Culture, NDK, in Sofia for her Saturday concert.

The boos were caused by her delayed by 1 hour and 40 minutes appearance, doubled seats, lack of information, and a long wait in the cold outside the locked entrances of NDK, which irritated tremendously the 6 000 ticket holders.

Part of them left before the intermission, while the others demanded reimbursement.

The Bulgarian 24 Chassa (24 Hours) daily cites some saying that Serbian pop folk diva, Lepa Brena (who had a concert in Sofia the same evening) certainly had been more polite to her fans than the student of Bulgarian virtuoso, Vasko Vassilev.

Twelve body guards had to keep the outraged audience away from the star, who arrived from her hotel 40 minutes late, and then proceeded unperturbed to a rehearsal and sound check, where the fans were sent outside to wait in the lobby.

The organizers from Most of evil Music Ltd say they are seeking legal advice on reimbursing the ticket holders and will, on their part, seek damages from Mae.

According to the company's manager, Gani Kurshumov, the scandal was caused by the "irresponsible approach of the artist to the undertaken commitment."

"What she did was to not appear on stage at 8 pm as scheduled. Instead, she stayed in her hotel until that time and then decided to proceed with a sound check, irritating us and the audience. At some point we became fed-up with her fits. For example, we spent quite of a long time sewing a dress with crystals for her and minutes before the concert Mae decides that she didn't like it and will not be wearing it. And she approved it in advance! The problems with her started from the moment she set foot in Bulgaria. We paid fees and air tickets a week before the concert, "said Kurshumov.

Vanessa Mae was born in Singapore. After her parents separated, her mother married a British attorney who adopted Vanessa, and the family moved to England. She grew up there and holds British citizenship. Mae began playing piano at the age of three and violin at five.

At the age of thirteen, she was the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, according to Guinness World Records.

On entering adolescence Vanessa Mae broke away from traditional classical influences and became known for her flashy, sexy style appearing in music videos in stylish outfits. Many critics dismissed her then as "Fiddling Lolita", but the German entertainment journalist Gero Hoschek lauded her as the new Goddess of the Violin

In April 2006, Vanessa Mae was ranked as the wealthiest young entertainer under 30 in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006

A skier since the age of five, she plans to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in downl, representing Thailand.

The virtuoso has been surrounded by other recent controversy. In October 2011, Vanessa Mae attended celebrations in Chechnya on the birthday of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov along with several other celebrities, reportedly receiving USD 500 000 for her performance. Warnings from Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Foundation, ECCHR to them before the event and a call for the performers to return or donate their earnings has drawn no response from Vanessa Mae

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!