James Levine, who ruled over Met Opera, dies

NEW YORK >> 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 centuryplus 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.

Levine became music director emeritus and remained head of its young artists program but was suspended on Dec. 3, 2017, the day after conducting a Verdi “Requiem” in what turned out to be his final performance, after accounts in the New York Post and The New York Times of sexual misconduct dating to the 1960s.

He was fired the following March 12 and never conducted again. He had been scheduled to make comeback performances of Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem” this Jan. 17 and 21 in Florence, Italy, but the concerts were canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“No artist in the 137 year history of the Met had as profound an impact as James Levine,” Gelb said in a statement. “He raised the Met’s musical standards to new and greater heights.”

Known for bushy hair an ever-present towel draped over a shoulder during rehearsals, Levine greatly expanded the Met’s repertory and was especially praised for his performances of Wagner, Verdi and Berg. He was closely associated with Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Birgit Nilsson.

Levine was beloved by singers for forcing orchestras to bend to their needs.

He became a dominant figure in the media age, making hundreds of audio and video recordings that have been released commercially or distributed by the Met and its media partners.

In addition to his lengthy tenure at the Met, Levine was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Ravinia Festival from 1973-93, the Munich Philharmonic from 1999-2004 and the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004-11. He conducted at the Richard Wagner Festival from 1982-98.

Levine was regarded as the top American conductor following the death of Leonard Bernstein in 1990. He won 10 Grammy Awards and was nominated for 37.

MICHAEL DWYER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine conducts the symphony on its opening night performance at Tanglewood in Mass. in 2006. Levine, who ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for 4 1⁄2 decades before being eased out when his health declined and then fired for sexual improprieties, died March 9 in Palm Springs of natural causes, his physician of 17years, Dr. Len Horovitz, said Wednesday, March 17. He was 77.