Street Musician Plays Bohemian Rhapsody on Wine Glasses — Crowd Goes Wild

Charles Bridge in Prague is no stranger to talented street performers. But last Tuesday, a musician known only as “The Glass Man” stopped hundreds of tourists in their tracks with a performance that has since been viewed over 35 million times online. Using nothing but 22 wine glasses filled with varying levels of water, he performed a pitch-perfect rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody — every note, every key change, every dynamic shift, completely intact.

How Does It Actually Work?

The instrument, known as a glass harp, works by running a moistened finger around the rim of wine glasses to produce musical tones. The pitch of each note depends on how much water is in the glass — more water means a lower note, less water means higher. The Glass Man reportedly spent four months tuning his glasses to achieve the specific pitches needed for Bohemian Rhapsody. Some glasses are accurate to within 1/10th of a semitone.

The Crowd’s Reaction

By the halfway point of the performance, traffic on the bridge had essentially stopped. Tourists stood 10 deep in every direction. When the final note rang out, the applause lasted nearly three minutes. “I’ve seen a lot of street performers,” said one tourist in a comment that’s been liked over 200,000 times. “That was the best live performance I’ve ever witnessed. Full stop.”

Watch The Performance