Police arrest conductor backstage

A world-renowned opera conductor was arrested backstage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in a dispute over maintenance payments to his wife.

Daniel Oren, 49, had just finished conducting La Boheme when he was arrested on Thursday evening.

The Israeli conductor, who lives in Monte Carlo, is currently going through a divorce from his second wife.

A judge at New York's Family court said on Friday Mr Oren was arrested after failing to respond to a court summons.

Embarrassment

But Mr Oren's lawyer, Harriet Newman Cohen, said he was never served a summons and did not know he was supposed to appear in court.

She called the backstage arrest "a publicity stunt" by Mr Oren's wife of 14 years, Shulamith Orvieto, to cause humiliation to her husband.

But Jeffrey Cohen, Ms Orvieto's lawyer, said he waited until after the show to have Mr Oren arrested to minimize embarrassment and disruption.

Mr Oren was ordered by the court to surrender his passport until the case was resolved.

A further hearing was scheduled for 8 November.

The conductor is recognised across the world, performing at the Opera House in London, the Staatsoper in Vienna and the Colon in Buenos Aires.