Maestro longtime creep: Met

FORMER Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine sexually abused or harassed at least seven aspiring musicians over the course of two decades, according to bombshell court papers filed Friday.

The Met Opera revealed their internal investigation findings in Manhattan Supreme Court as a rebuttal to the suit Levine, 74, filed over his March firing.

“There is credible evidence that Levine, during his engagement with the Met and oversight of the Young Artist Program, used his reputation and position of power to prey upon and abuse artists,” the Met said in its filing.

Between 1975 and 2000, the Opera claims, Levine preyed on seven people — including a 16-year-old boy.

Among the salacious allegations the Met uncovered, were accusations that Levine wore only a bathrobe to a dressing room,where he molested a teen performer in 1979.

That abuse continued until 1991, according to court papers.

In the 1980s, Levine (photo) enrolled an opera singer into a prestigious Met program, after alleged groping and kissing, the Opera alleges.

The maestro also paid a 16-yearold performer — who he reportedly abused — $50,000 “over a period of years,” court filings say.

Levine also had “inappropriate conversations” about penis size and musical ability with another creative hopeful, the Met claims.

In the 1990s, according to court papers, Levine made indecent proposals — asking one young person to join him in the bathroom to masturbate and inappropriately touching another.

The Met is demanding $5.8 million from Levine in its counter-claim.

His lawyers hit back, saying in court papers that the Met presented “only vague and unsubstantiated accusations of sexual misconduct supposedly engaged in by Levine decades ago, made by unidentified individuals, all in an attempt intentionally to smear Levine’s name, reputation, and legacy, while at the same time making it difficult for Levine to defend himself with any specificity against anonymous accusations.

“The Met's so-called ‘investigation’ of Levine's conduct was nothing more than a pretext for the Met to suspend, fire and defame him,” Levine’s filing said.

Levine conducted 2,552 performances at the Met from 1971 through his suspension on Dec. 2.

The internal opera investigation included interviews with more than 70 people.