We’ve just put two and two together and realised that falling scenery is not the only thing that is going down at the Darmstadt State Theatre.

Two weeks ago, we reported the the chief conductor, Constantin Trinks, had been fired by general manager John Dew. Something to do, apparently, with the partner of one man not being given a role by the other.

A Frankfurt newspaper has been running headlines about ‘no bullying at the state theatre’.

Intendant John Dew soll einen „höchst autokratischen Führungsstil“ pflegen.

Dew has been heavily criticsed in an official report for his autocracy. There are whiffs of nepotism about the house.

Small wonder the walls are shaking.

It’s a Los Angeles Philharmonic recording of the Brahms fourth symphony and no-one’s quite sure this morning where to find it because physically it does not exist.

Under the antediluvian terms of the orchestra’s collective bargaining agreement, the performance could not be released on disc without triggering heavy payments to the players. Neither Deutsche Grammophon nor the Philharmonic thought this was a profitable proposition, so they released it on iTunes only. As a consequence, it received hardly any reviews and sits out there in the cyberworld, deprived of cover art, awaiting your attention.

I’m waiting to hear if a deal will be stuck to allow a physical release now the Grammys have earned it all this free promo. Will keep you posted. Meantime, mant congrats to Gustavo and my friends in the LA Phil – and a special one to producer Chris Alder, whose ninth Grammy this is.

It’s called ‘Sparkle’ and it’s a remake of a 1976 film, casting Whitney as the mother of three kiddie stars and listing her as executive producer. It shot last October in Detroit and was in the pipeline, awaiting a release slot.

Now, in sad circumstances, it’s got one.

Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston in 2012’s “Sparkle”

(Credit: Alicia Gbur/Sony)

The long-running saga of who almost crashed the Easter Festival in 2009 is finally coming to court.

It’s incredibly complicated and sub judice, but in a hearing on Friday the former director Michael DeWitte, who is facing separate criminal charges, voluntered the admission that he was entitled to receive five percent of all sponsorship money coming into the festival. This, he added, had been agreed by the board. So hätten die Hauptgesellschafter der Osterfestspiele von dem Minderheitsgesellschafter erfahren, dass er, Dewitte, fünf Prozent aller Sponsorgelder als Provision erhalten soll.

Read the Standard report here in German. It ought to cause your eyebrows to shoot vertically upwards.

DeWitte with Eliette von Karajan, in happier times

The Russian soprano has cancelled her appearance at the Vienna Opera ball after fierce criticism of her appearance on a list of 499 sworn supporters of Vladimir Putin’s presidential campaign. Other prominent endorsers include Valery Gergiev and the Arsenal footballer Andrei Arshavin.

Netrebko alienated her home base by taking Austrian citizenship in 2006. She now stands accused in Vienna of meddling in the affairs of another state, when all she is trying to do – not being a terribly political person or bothering much with newspapers – is to make nice to her mummyland.

Gergiev has also been attacked once more for getting too close to strongman Putin, who has destroyed Russia’s legal process, jails his opponents and makes light of the murders of investigative journalists.

Arshavin has no previous political form.

 

Darmstadt has been forced to call off its run of Das Rheingold after an eight-metre stage wall came crashing down during Saturday night’s sold-out performance, injuring a player in the pit. A woman, 55, was taken to hospital with head injuries – minor, it is said.

Police are investigating the cause, as are the health-and-safety and labour relations inspectorates.

Accidents in Wagner’s epic cycle are legion. There was a nasty accident four months ago at the Met in which injury was only narrowly avoided. New precautions may be required.