From a correspondent in Berlin:

   Ostensibly *Der Spiegel" will print the news in Monday's edition,
   but the German radio news has already broken the story:  an unequivocal
   announcement that Californian Kent Nagano will succeed Christian
   Thielemann as *Generalmusikdirektor* of the Deutsche Oper Berlin,
   even though Nagano has yet to sign his contract.

   This would revive the situation that prevailed during the years
   when Lorin Maazel did double duty here simultaneously as head of
   the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (originally the RIAS Symphony
   Orchestra) and GMD of the Deutsche Oper:  Nagano has already signed
   to succeed Vladimir Ashkenazy as conductor of the Deutsches
   Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, which after Berlin's wall disintegrated
   succeeded the RSO.

   The current *Intendant* of the Leipzig Opera, Udo Zimmermann, will
   take over the directorship of the Deutsche Oper Berlin when Goetz
   Friedrich retires in 2001 after a twenty-year tenure.  Zimmermann
   has long made no secret of the fact that he had his eye on Nagano
   to figure importantly as conductor for some new DOB productions.
   Thielemann recently announced his resignation as that house's GMD,
   igniting sulphurous volleys back & forth between himself & Zimmermann,
   with the latter calling Thielemann not a team player, and Thielemann
   describing Zimmermann's concept of teamwork as "I command, you obey."

Scott Morrison