Riccardo Muti receives a heart pacemaker in Chicago

After Riccardo Muti's fall from the podium in Chicago last week, doctors have implanted a pacemaker to treat a heart rhythm problem.

Cardiologists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital blamed Muti's fainting spell on 3 February as a “common heart rhythm disturbance” and said the pacemaker they implanted would monitor his heart and, if necessary, deliver a shock if his heartbeat becomes too slow.

Muti fainted and pitched forward onto the stage during an extended rehearsal last week, fracturing his jaw and other facial bones and suffering a gashed chin. He had surgery earlier this week that wired his jaw shut for a few weeks and inserted permanent plates in his face.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.