Serious injury at a Salzburg rehearsal
NewsThe festival has acknowledged that a female extra was seriously injured when she fell off the top stage level during a rehearsal of Mozart’s Magic Flute.
The injured woman was rushed to hospital with a broken limb.
An official statement said: ‘There has been an accident at work, that has also been reported and is regrettable. In the Magic Flute, which is a very complex stage design, we made sure that all the artists and extras were instructed accordingly. Normally, a serious accident where negligence is suspected is investigated. That’s not the case. It was an unfortunate accident.’
Great sympathy for her. I assume that the decision *not* to investogate was made by an authority outside the opera house. All good wishes for a speedy recovery, but the term ‘serious injury’ should not be taken lightly.
It has always been a head-scratcher as to why an opera house would place complex visual effects over the safety of its artists . We see it time and again.
And what can artist do other than sue after the fact? Absolutely nothing. They have to work. Period. However, they need an advocate, which they are not receiving from (most) designers, directors, or theater managements.
We’re looking at you, Mr. LePage.
Oh dear….looks like the festival is gonna have to pay a heck of a lot in compensation, just where are they gonna get the money from? Thank heavens for the Russian money after all, eh?
Why the photo of the masked gimp?
Masked what? Check yourself.
She wants to stay safe…from an accident!
The two of them can stay right there – when the Ukrainians liberate Mariupol, they will find appropriate work for these two.
(perhaps cleaning up the remains of dead invaders?)
Something that may be of benefit: our Safety Manager lectured that there is no such thing as an accident, only an unsafe act or an unsafe condition. The ladder’s rung was loose, the lift hadn’t been serviced, the operator was unwell, the safety guard was missing etc. Watch and concentrate wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Of course true accidents can still occur but are rare.
Understood, but it seems like a word salad from a created position “Safety Manager”, akin to the new created position of diversity officer.
did the show go on? I witnessed the death of a major cast member at the MET when he fell of a ladder in the Markoplous Affair and they sent everyone home. Shocking.
Not to minimize a tragedy, but wasn’t it determined that Richard Versalle suffered a heart attack at the time that he reached the top of the ladder and that precipitated his fall and death?
In this incident the article states the accident happened during a rehearsal, so I assume everyone was told to take a break/rest of the day off. Therefore it is not a straight comparison to the tragic event you witnessed, thankfully.
Simplify and make productions safe, and let the music speak. People should not be falling off dodgy scenery or sets. We all remember what happened to Janice Cairns in the 80s and she doing Tosca at ENO. That definitely was human error and an accident, but very serious. But then watching singers forced to go up and down flights of stairs with no handrails really makes me shrink with fright. Alcina at the Met if I remember correctly, watching at the cinema wasa caae in point? Singers up and down a flight of stairs and no protection.