James Levine Fired From Metropolitan Opera

By Francisco Salazar

The Metropolitan Opera has officially fired James Levine.

The New York Times reported that the Met ended its association with the conductor on Monday evening after an investigation that found what the Met called credible evidence that Levine had engaged in “sexually abusive and harassing conduct.”

The investigation, which opened in December, found evidence of abuse and harassment “both before and during the period” when Levine worked with the Met. However, no specifics were revealed but the investigation did find that Levine harassed and abused artists at early stages of their careers.

Earlier during the investigation, Levine denied the allegations stating the accusations were “unfounded” and that “I have not lived my life as an oppressor or an aggressor.”

Levine is one of the latest public figures whose career has been tarnished after the Me Too and Time’s Up movements began in the fall of 2017. In total Levine conducted more than 2,500 performances with the company and was an influencer in classical music. He was recognized as one of the greatest American conductors since Leonard Bernstein and was responsible for expanding the Metropolitan Opera repertoire and bringing some of the greatest opera stars to the company. He was also music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

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