(Credit: Koichi Miura/Metropolitan Opera) Editorial Warning: This article includes some graphic imagery. Read at your discretion. A man who accused James Levine of molesting him for years as a teen has filed a $25 million lawsuit targeting Levine’s estate and the Metropolitan Opera. The New York Post is reporting that the lawsuit which was filed under the name John Doe {…}
(Photo by Jamie Street) Every Friday, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most sensitive topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. James Levine died. And the short and direct words of facts seem the only way to speak about it. A very controversial and big persona of {…}
Conductor James Levine died on March 9, 2021 at the age of 77 in Palm Springs, California. The death was confirmed by his physician Dr. Len Horovitz and according to Riverside County’s Department of Public Health the cause of James Levine’s death was cardiopulmonary arrest, with Parkinson’s disease as a contributing factor. The maestro was best known for the four {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced that the upcoming performances of “La Damnation de Faust” have been canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The performances, which were expected to take place on Jan. 11, 13, and 16, 2021, were set to be conducted by James Levine. It would have marked his return to the podium following a 2017 report {…}
(Credit: Koichi Miura/Metropolitan Opera) The terms of James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera have been revealed a year after it was reached. In a New York Times report, it was revealed that Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, “told the committee that the resolution was advantageous to the Met. But the settlement, whose terms have not been publicly {…}
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 {…}
(Credit: Koichi Miura/Metropolitan Opera) Following the announcement that James Levine would be returning to the podium during the 2020-21 season at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, superintendent Alexander Pereira spoke about his decision to contract the conductor. In an interview with Musical America, Periera said, “I always try to protect people that are demonized. Rightly or wrongly, that’s how I am. {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2020-21 season featuring concerts, opera productions, and a star-studded summer festival. For this article, we will only focus on the Italian theater’s operatic and vocal concerts. Season Federico Maria Sardelli conducts a new production of Handel’s “Rinaldo” with Pierluigi Pizzi directing. The cast includes Raffaele Pe in the title role, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Carmela {…}
(Credit: Koichi Miura/Metropolitan Opera) Conductor James Levine is set to return to the stage in 2020-21. The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in announcing its 2020-21 season, revealed that 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. The {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced the 10th week of its nightly streams. Here is a rundown of all the performances which includes two classic performances. Monday, May 18 – Mozart’s Idomeneo Conducted by James Levine, starring Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, Alice Coote, and Matthew Polenzani. Transmitted live on March 25, 2017. Tuesday, May 19 – Wagner’s Lohengrin – {…}
(Credit: Koichi Miura/Metropolitan Opera) The Met Opera and James Levine have quietly settled the ongoing suit over the conductor’s firing a few years ago, per The New York Times. The Met Opera had fired Levine in 2018 after conducting an investigation regarding accusations of sexual misconduct leveled against the maestro. The famed conductor then proceeded to sue the organization that {…}