CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

March 17, 2021 JMG Community, Open Thread

Conductor James Levine, who ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for more than four decades before being eased aside when his health declined and then was fired for sexual improprieties, has died. He was 77.

Levine died March 9 in Palm Springs, California, of natural causes, his physician of 17 years, Dr. Len Horovitz, said Wednesday.

Levine made his Met debut in 1971 and became one of the signature artists in the company’s century-plus history, conducting 2,552 performances and ruling over its repertoire, orchestra and singers as music or artistic director from 1976 until forced out by general manager Peter Gelb in 2016 due to Parkinson’s disease.

Read the full article.

Breaking News: James Levine, the guiding maestro of the Metropolitan Opera for over 40 years until sexual abuse allegations ended his career, is dead at 77.https://t.co/quOUBQyQiP

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 17, 2021

A look at the final years of James Levine. Considered by many the greatest American conductor since Leonard Bernstein, his career ended in disgrace after accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced. https://t.co/kweyWpoU7B

— Michael Cooper (@coopnytimes) March 17, 2021