Drama in Royal Opera House pit as conductor Sir Colin Davis falls

The Royal Opera House auditorium was cleared last night after 83-year-old conductor Sir Colin Davis suffered a fall as he mounted the podium steps.

Orchestra members rushed to his aid and an ambulance was called when Sir Colin tripped and tumbled, bashing the back of his head, as he prepared to conduct Mozart's The Magic Flute. The audience saw him lying on the floor, but the paramedics were not needed and he stood and walked from the pit himself.

He drank some water and a message was broadcast throughout the Covent Garden building that he was fine. But it was decided as a precaution that David Syrus, who was on hand and already scheduled to conduct performances of the opera next week, should take over.

At his home in Highbury today, Sir Colin told the Standard: "I'm fine. I have had heart troubles. It's been a bad year on the whole, but I'm still abreast, so to speak."

The Royal Opera House insisted he would be back at work and would conduct as scheduled in two days' time. A ROH spokeswoman said: "He will be back on Saturday, absolutely."

She added that Sir Colin, a former music director at Covent Garden, had been "bitterly disappointed" at having to pull out of the performance. "He hates to let the audience down."

Sir Colin, who has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra for 50 years, had already missed one performance of the scheduled run last Friday, after being advised to rest following medical tests for unspecified problems. However his agent, Alison Glaister, insisted he was fine and attending meetings as scheduled today.