Opera diva accused of NYC restaurant drama

updated 9:37 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2009

NEW YORK - An Argentine diva has been accused of creating a drama of operatic proportions at a Manhattan cafe.

Gabriela Pochinki was due in court Friday on a misdemeanor summons, accused of shoving the manager of Nice Matin, shouting and refusing to pay her bill last weekend.

Witnesses told the Daily News the ordeal was sparked when the soprano was making a loud cell phone call and the manager asked her to quiet down.

'Peaceful person'
The paper says Pochinki has recorded with the Krakow Radio Symphony Orchestra in Poland and worked on an album with Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson. In 2002, she starred in "West Side Story" at the Volksoper opera house in Vienna.

Her business manager, William Kitainik, tells the New York Post that Pochinki is "the most peaceful person you'll ever meet."

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