James Levine, conductor and the man who ruled Met Opera, dies at 77

Conductor James Levine, the man who ruled Metropolitan Opera for over four decades, passed away on March 9, at the age of 77.

Levine died in Palm Springs, California. According to his physician of 17 years, Dr. Len Horovitz, his death was due to natural causes.

Levine debuted in 1971 and soon became one of the signature artists in the company’s history. He conducted 2,552 performances and led its repertoire, orchestra, and singers as a music/artistic director from 1976. In 2016, he was forced to leave by the general manager Peter Gelb due to Parkinson’s disease.

After that, Levine became the music director emeritus and remained the head of its young artist program. That was until he was forced out in 2017, post accounts of sexual misconduct dating in the 1960s in New York Post and New York Times.

The following March, he was fired and was never conducted again.

Levine was supposed to make a come back on January 11 this year in Florence, Italy. However, it was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.