Franz Welser-Moest collapsed into his podium at the end of the first act of the four-and-a-half-hour long Parsifal.

BBC: Vienna opera director collapses during performance

Welser-Moest took up the role of musical director in 2010, replacing Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who was forced to take a break from performing due to illness.

BBC: Vienna opera director collapses during performance

Welser-Moest, who is also director of the Cleveland Orchestra in the United States, was admitted to hospital following the incident but allowed to return home later that same evening.

BBC: Vienna opera director collapses during performance

Before Welser-Moest became a conductor, he worked as a trained violinist with some of the most respected orchestras around the world, including the philharmonic orchestras of Vienna and Berlin, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and the Orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles and New York.

BBC: Vienna opera director collapses during performance