On Radio 3's In Tune programme last night, Valery Gergiev defended his Mariinsky Ring staging - according to him the cycle is "not rational" and "not German". Has he slowed down for long enough to actually study it, I wonder?
There's also a brief chat with the very earnest Evgeny Nikitin - who explains why singing Wagner should be like singing Mozart, and why tattoos are a smart career move.
Listen for the next few days here (ff to 1:13).
