[Magdalen] And Now Jimmy.

[cantor03 at aol.com]

It's not much a surprise to many fans of the Metropolitan Opera that long time (four decades) 
conductor and General Manager, James Levine, has been alleged by three different men
of sexually abusing them when they were teenagers decades ago.  The claims go back as far
as 1960.  There appears so far to be nothing recent.
 
Levine rumors were always followed by the story that everyone looked the other way
because Levine is so multitalented.  It was rumored that the Met had long ago issued
a cease and desist order to Jimmy as a condition for his staying on.  I guess we'll now
find out whether any of these rumored allegations were real.
 
The man is overwhelmingly talented.  He is a concert pianist who can conduct a classical
orchestra from the keyboard,  He has been a great builder of the Met Orchestra to the
point that it gives concerts on its own, and the musicians love him.  He unusually has the
talent necessary for a Met General Manager, a position from which he retired a few years
ago.
 
He also conducts the new and difficult operas for the met, and was scheduled to conduct
the new production of Tosca and others this year.  His recordings of the Wagner Ring
Operas are sought after.
 
It's all gone, sadly, as the Met severed any ties with Levine over the weekend.  He is 74.
 
I'll miss him.
 
Sympathy to the three (so far) victims of his baser instincts.  He didn't get break this
time even with his many talents.
 
 
 
David S.