This clip has just bee uploaded to Youtube. Click here to watch.

Robert Ashley, who has died aged 83, was a pioneer of mixed-media operas. He worked with the likes of Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, and David Behrman. His final opera, CRASH, is due to premiere at the Whitney in New York later this year, provided funds can be raised.

Reared in Michigan, transplanted to San Francisco, his music was rooted in the American 20th century experience, a blend of subtle beauty and surprising visuals.

Angelika Kirchschlager has pulled out of an Austrian date with Rufus Wainwright this Sunday, citing ‘condition of exhaustion’. British soprano Janis Kelly (pictured) steps in at Festspielhaus St. Pölten. She will sing Berlioz Les Nuits d’été and Wainwright’s All Days are Nights – Songs for Lulu.

In a week when star have been falling like flies, Angela Gheorghiu has cancelled the first of three performances of Adriana Lecouvreur at the Vienna State Opera. Not feeling well. Her replacement is a Korean debutante, Hyuna Ko.