James Levine to
Return to Conducting at the Metropolitan Opera
Music Director’s initial performance will be
with the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on May 19; next season he will conduct
three operas at the Met
New York, NY (October 11, 2012) – James Levine, the
Metropolitan Opera’s Music Director, will return to conducting on May 19, 2013
with the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He will then lead three operas in the
Met’s 2013-14 season, including a new production of Verdi’s Falstaff and
revivals of Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Berg’s Wozzeck. He will also conduct all three Carnegie Hall
concerts that season.
In recent weeks
Levine, who is still recovering from a spinal injury due to a fall in August
2011, has already resumed some of his duties as the Met’s Music Director,
coaching members of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program,
holding artistic planning sessions, and meeting with the Met’s Orchestra and
Chorus.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s
General Manager, made the announcement of Levine’s return on Thursday. Levine
said, “I’m feeling better with each passing day and look forward to returning
to the company I love so much. It has been a long healing process, but with a
team of excellent doctors and the unwavering support of my friends and
colleagues, I’m looking forward more than I can say to getting back to work.”
Gelb said, “Jim’s
return to conducting is the welcome news that our company has long been waiting
for, and it is also great news for opera lovers throughout the world.”
Levine has been in
long-term rehabilitation since his fall and injury in August 2011, which
required surgery and left him partially paralyzed. Based upon recent
examinations, his team of physicians has expressed uniform optimism about his
ability to resume conducting.
Dr. Len Horovitz,
Attending Physician at Lenox Hill Hospital and Levine’s personal physician who
coordinates his medical team, said, “James Levine is an inspirational case,
whose return to conducting will be a result of remarkable perseverance and hard
work.”
His neurosurgeon,
Patrick O’Leary, Associate Attending Spine Surgeon at the Hospital for Special
Surgery and former Chief of the Hospital’s Spine Service, who performed the
recent operations on Levine’s spine, said that he was making a dramatic
recovery. “He is no longer in need of additional surgery, his upper body
strength is remarkable, and his prognosis is good.”
His neurologist,
Edward Reich, Senior Attending Neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, said, “Neurologically, he is
fit to return to conducting. With his intensive rehabilitation, his upper body
strength is greater than it has been in years.”
While his upper body
strength has returned and he is progressing with his rehabilitation, the
injuries have left him temporarily unable to walk. For the time being, he will
conduct from a motorized wheelchair, which he also uses to move about. In
anticipation of his return, the Met’s technical department is designing
customized, elevating podiums that will be utilized on the Carnegie Hall stage
and in the Met’s orchestra pit.
Prior to his fall in
2011, Levine had undergone other surgeries to correct problems with his upper
and lower spine, including stenosis, and fractured and herniated discs, which
had caused severe and debilitating pain. This pain from his back injuries also
aggravated a long-standing neurological disorder that is related to Parkinson’s
disease – but is considered relatively benign because it does not progress. The
condition was previously not disclosed by Levine for reasons of privacy. The
medication for this benign form of Parkinsonism, as it is known, was treated
with the Parkinson medication, L-dopa, a powerful medication that also
contributed to the shaking in his legs and left hand.
Dr. Stanley Fahn, the
H. Houston Merritt Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, has been
treating Levine for the disease in recent years. He said, “Since 1994, Maestro
Levine has shown symptoms of Parkinson disease. They mainly affected his legs and
also caused a mild tremor in his left hand. Fortunately, the symptoms have
changed little over the years and have been suppressed with medication. This
lack of progression indicates a benign form of Parkinson’s, rather than the
more typical form, in which symptoms steadily worsen. In the past, Maestro
Levine’s symptoms were aggravated by the stress of severe back pain. Now that
he is pain-free, his mild Parkinsonism should have little impact on his quality
of life and his return to conducting. His upper body strength and dexterity are
quite remarkable.”
News of Levine’s
return was announced to the Executive Committee of the Met’s Board in a meeting
on Thursday afternoon. The 1600 members of the Company were informed by Gelb in
an announcement that evening.
While Levine is
resuming his duties as Music Director, Fabio Luisi is also continuing in his
role as Principal Conductor. "The Met is extremely fortunate to have
Fabio's strong presence in the pit," said Gelb. "The orchestra and
chorus admire him greatly and both Jim and I are very grateful for all that he
brings to the Met with his artistry and continuing presence."
The Met’s Music
Director since 1976, Levine made his debut with the company in 1971 and has
conducted 2,441 performances there, more than anyone in the company’s 129-year
history. His 40th anniversary with the company was celebrated in the spring of
2011. The most recent performance he conducted at the Met was of Wagner’s Die
Walküre on May 14, 2011, a matinee which was transmitted worldwide as part of
The Met: Live in HD series.
Doctors’ Statements
“While he continues
to make a remarkable recovery from his traumatic injury, neurologically he is
fit to return to conducting. With his intensive rehab, his upper body strength
is greater than it has been in years. He no longer suffers from back pain,
which in combination with his benign Parkinsonism, debilitated him in the
past.”
—Dr. Edward Reich,
Senior Attending Neurologist at Lenox
Hill Hospital
“After suffering an
injury, caused by a fall, to his dorsal spine #4, James Levine suffered major
paralysis from which he is making a dramatic recovery. Over the past years, he
has also been operated on for a variety of spinal ailments in his upper and
lower body, including stenosis, and herniated discs. He is no longer in need of
additional surgery, his upper body strength is remarkable, and his prognosis is
good.’
—Dr. Patrick O’Leary,
Associate Attending Spine Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery and
former Chief of the Hospital’s Spine Service
“Since 1994, Maestro
Levine has shown symptoms of Parkinson disease. They mainly affected his legs
and also caused a mild tremor in his left hand. Fortunately, the symptoms have
changed little over the years and have been suppressed with medication. This
lack of progression indicates a benign form of Parkinson’s, rather than the
more typical form, in which symptoms steadily worsen. In the past, Maestro
Levine’s symptoms were aggravated by the stress of severe back pain. Now that
he is pain-free, his mild Parkinsonism should have little impact on his quality
of life and his return to conducting.
His upper body strength and dexterity are quite remarkable.”
—Dr. Stanley Fahn,
the H. Houston Merritt Professor of Neurology at Columbia University
Contact:
Peter Clark / Lee
Abrahamian / Sam Neuman
Metropolitan Opera
(212) 870-7457
pclark@metopera.org /
labrahamian@metopera.org / sneuman@metopera.org