Oiling-Up The Ol' Uzi — Just In Case

[Note: This post has been updated (2) as of 4:29 AM Eastern on 28 Feb. See below.]

Seems the rumor is something more than mere rumor.

Will Gerard Mortier, who once scandalized the diamonds-and-dirndl set at the Salzburg Festival with an operetta staging featuring cocaine-snorting, scalping, slaughter, incest, Jew-bashing and child abuse, take over the New York City Opera, a company in need of new leadership?

Mortier, a Belgian-born baker's son who is 63, is said to be a top candidate to run the company, a rival of the grander Metropolitan Opera, also at Lincoln Center. He is currently the general manager of the Opera de Paris (shorthand for the Bastille and Palais Garnier), where his contract expires in August 2009.

Now where did I put that can of Burke's oil....

RTWT here.

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Update (6:50 PM Eastern on 27 Feb): Confirmed.

Update 2 (4:29 AM Eastern on 28 Feb): More on this in the comments section of this post on Parterre Box.