Burned opera fire-blower returning to the stage

CHICAGO (AP) — The fire-blowing stilt walker with the Lyric Opera of Chicago who suffered burns during a dress rehearsal is going back to work.

Wesley Daniel will return as an understudy for a stilt walker in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg."

The Opera announced Friday that doctors had cleared the 24-year-old to return.

In a statement, Daniel says he feels "terrific" and is looking forward to putting the incident behind him and returning to the stage.

Daniel suffered second-degree burns when he had to swig a flammable liquid and spit it onto a torch he was holding.

The incident occurred in front of an audience of hundreds. Some witnesses described Daniel staggering off stage and falling to the floor.

A Loyola University Medical Center physician equated the injuries to a "deep sunburn."