“Outgoing director Stéphane Lissner dropped a bombshell Thursday, saying Europe’s biggest opera and ballet company was ‘on its knees’ and he would be leaving seven months early in January. But his successor Alexander Neef said Friday he knew nothing of Lissner’s early exit, and cast doubt on whether he would be able to immediately step into his shoes just as the opera faces one of the biggest crises in its 350-year history.” – France24 (AFP)