James Levine News

Joseph W. Polisi, President of The Juilliard School, today announced the creation of the Kovner Fellowship Program at Juilliard that will be endowed with a gift of $60 million - the largest single one-time gift to the School - from Bruce and Suzie Kovner, long-time supporters of the School. Providing full tuition, and living expenses, the Fellowships recognize the excellence of Juilliard's classical music students and enhance the School's 100+ year tradition of attracting and developing the most talented musicians in the world.

Vancouver, BC ~ Tickets are selling quickly for the first production of Vancouver Opera's 2013-2014 season: Puccini's electrifying drama, Tosca. Featuring lavish sets and costumes, a magnificent chorus of more than 50 voices, and with 60 players in the orchestra pit, Tosca is a thrill for the senses.

October 15, 2013 – Richmond, Virginia This November, The Richmond Symphony invites you to An Evening with Kate Lindsey, an Altria Masterworks concert. Kate Lindsey, a homegrown rising star mezzo-soprano, returns to the Richmond area for a not-to-be-missed evening of French arias and orchestral showpieces with The Richmond Symphony and Conductor Steven Smith.

On Monday, November 11, the Metropolitan Opera Guild's 79th Annual Luncheon presents "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" to salute music directorJames Levine on his triumphant return to the Met podium. A perennial highlight of the opera season, the luncheon will bring together a host of artists who have collaborated with the preeminent conductor over the course of his long and celebrated Met tenure, as well as opera fans and an array of New York's society, business, and civic leaders. "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" will feature musical tributes by Dolora Zajick, "a mezzo in a class by herself" (New York Times); Thomas Hampson, "America's foremost baritone" (International Herald Tribune); and Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Eric Owens, all accompanied by the Met's Director of Music Administration, Craig Rutenberg. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Guild's education programs in New York City and throughout the country.

The 92nd season of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) will be launched tonight, October 12, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Case Scaglione will lead selections from all four movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This is the first program in this season's series, Points of Entry, in which each concert explores facets of music and the orchestra itself through a single, influential score. The performance will feature the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus, Kent Tritle, director.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and The Phoenix Concerts will co-produce 'AOP25: Celebrating Composers & the Voice,' a concert featuring the work of composers and librettists from AOP's C&V (Composers & the Voice) program, an annual fellowship that trains composers to write for the operatic voice. The concert will take place tonight, October 11 at 8PM at the Church of Saint Matthew and Saint Timothy: 26 West 84th Street, New York City.

Joseph W. Polisi, President of The Juilliard School, today announced the creation of the Kovner Fellowship Program at Juilliard that will be endowed with a gift of $60 million - the largest single one-time gift to the School - from Bruce and Suzie Kovner, long-time supporters of the School.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in a celebration of the centennial of English composer, conductor, and pianist Benjamin Britten. The program will include Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, featuring tenor Paul Appleby and Philharmonic Principal Horn Philip Myers, and Britten's Spring Symphony, with soprano Kate Royal (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Philharmonic subscription debut), tenor Paul Appleby, New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus directed by Dianne Berkun-Menaker. The concerts, which include a performance on the composer's 100th birthday, November 22, will take place Thursday, November 21, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m.

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra's (ASO) 2013-2014 season continues with concerts at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 8pm. Under the musical direction of Maestro José-Luis Novo, the ASO will be accompanied by world-renowned pianist Peter Serkin. These performances will feature Benjamin Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Frank Bridge's The Sea, and Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters, will feature 10 productions in the 2013-14 season, offering a significant portion of the Met season to opera lovers around the world.

Below is a preview of Robert Carsen's new production of Verdi's Falstaff, conducted by James Levine and starring Ambrogio Maestri in the title role. The production opens on December 6, 2013.

Check out the excerpt from Act I of Mozart's 'Così fan tutte,' conducted by James Levine in his first Met performance in two years.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents Concertos for Orchestra tonight and tomorrow, October 4-5, 2013 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Guest conductor Asher Fisch leads Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, the overture to Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major featuring Principal Clarinet Todd Levy.

Carnegie Hall has announced its October 2013 calendar updates. Details below!

Verdi's Falstaff starring Ambrogio Maestri will be Live in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in New York on Sunday, December 15, at 5 p.m.

The 92nd season of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) will be launched on Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Case Scaglione will lead selections from all four movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This is the first program in this season's series, Points of Entry, in which each concert explores facets of music and the orchestra itself through a single, influential score. The performance will feature the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus, Kent Tritle, director.

Music Director James Levine returns to the Met podium after a two-year absence, greeted by a standing ovation to conducts Mozart's 'Così fan tutte' on September 24, 2013. Check out the video below!

Not many opera performances start with a standing ovation before a single note is sung, but the season's first COSI FAN TUTTE on September 24 was one of those rare occasions. It marked the return of conductor James Levine after a two-year absence, leading the performance from a motorized chair at a specially constructed podium. He had the orchestra—and the audience—in the palm of his hand.

The Dallas Opera has announced the opening production of their 2013-2014 “By Love Transformed” Season: Georges Bizet's colorful, sensual and passionate 19th century masterpiece, CARMEN, one of the most beloved and popular works in the entire opera canon.

After an absence of more than two years, Music Director James Levine returned to the Met podium in triumph last night, leading the season premiere of Mozart's Così fan tutte. Entering the orchestra pit, the maestro was greeted by a minute-long standing ovation and cheers from the packed house before launching into the performance. Levine, who had been sidelined by health issues, made his comeback with the Met Orchestra in concert at Carnegie Hall last May, but this was his first appearance at the opera house since the end of the 2010–11 season. “[He] led his beloved musicians like a man rejuvenated,” the Associated Press says. “This was prime Levine: a lithe, energetic, transparent account of Mozart's miraculous score, brisk but not rushed, polished and profound. His energy seemed never to flag throughout the long evening.”