James Levine to Conduct Accademia Orchestra of Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

By Francisco Salazar

James Levine will conduct at the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy.

The conductor will close out the 2020-21 season conducting a Schubert, Mozart, and Brahms program on June 17 through 19, 2021.

The news comes months after the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino announced Levine would be leading a production of “La Damnation de Faust” with Michael Spyres, Marianne Crebassa, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, as well as concert performances of Brahms’ “Ein deutsches Requiem” and Mozart symphonies in January 2021.

Prior to the announcement of his return to Florence, the last time Levine was in the headlines, the maestro was settling a lawsuit with the Metropolitan Opera in August of 2019. Levine, the former music director of the company, had sued the Met, which had fired him in 2018, demanding $5.8 million. The company responded by suing Levine for $5.8 million, alleging that the conductor’s acts of sexual misconduct had “harmed the company.” Per The New York Times, Levine “used his reputation and position of power to prey upon and abuse artists” during the 40 years he worked for the company.

Levine was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 and was dismissed from all his engagements.

Categories

News