Bertrand de Billy resigns from Vienna State Opera – shortly after Franz Welser-Moest left

VIENNA – The Vienna State Opera has lost its second star conductor in less than two weeks.

Bertrand de Billy says he refuses to work under opera director Dominique Meyer, mentioning “dishonesty” and “lack of loyalty.”

The French maestro was quoted in Tuesday’s Kurier newspaper that differences in March over one bar of music in a production of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” sparked the dispute. After de Billy refused to conduct the performance, Meyer told him that he could no longer conduct new productions.

Meyer says he “no longer had trust” in de Billy after the Lohengrin tiff.

Music director Franz Welser-Moest announced he was stepping down on Sept. 5, citing differences with Meyer over the artistic direction of what is one of the world’s premier opera houses.