The Metropolitan Opera Announces Additional Replacements for James Levine Following Suspension

The New York Times recently revealed that the Metropolitan Opera had opened an investigation into claims against conductor James Levine, alleging sexual abuse.

In light of the allegations, Levine has been suspended from all Met activity, pending an ongoing investigation. This afternoon, additional conductor replacements were announced for forthcoming productions.

This season Marco Armiliato and Bertrand de Billy will conduct the Met's productions of Verdi's Il Trovatore and Luisa Miller, respectively, both replacing James Levine.

Maestro Armiliato has conducted more than 400 performances with the Met since his debut in 1998. In recent years, he has conducted performances at the Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Zurich Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Later in 2018 he leads three Puccini operas at the Met: La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot.

Sir David McVicar's production of Il Trovatore will feature Maria Agresta as Leonora, Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, and Anita Rachvelishvili as Azucena. Quinn Kelsey and Luca Salsi will share the role of Count di Luna, with Štefan Kocán and Kwangchul Youn both singing the role of Ferrando.

Performances of Il Trovatore are on January 22, 26, 30, Feb 3 (matinee), 6, 9, 12 and 15, 2018.

Maestro de Billy made his Met debut in 1998. He is principal guest conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie and was formerly Music Director at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, as well as principal guest conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. He regularly conducts for such companies as the Vienna State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Paris Opéra, the Salzburg Festival, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 2018 he will also conduct performances of Tosca and Cendrillon at the Met.

Elijah Moshinsky's production of Luisa Miller features Sonya Yoncheva in the title role, with Plácido Domingo as her father. Piotr Becza?a sings Rodolfo, with Olesya Petrova as Federica, Alexander Vinogradov as Count Walter, and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Wurm.

Performances of Luisa Miller are on March 29, Apr 2, 6, 9, 14 (matinee), 18 and 21 (matinee), 2018. The April 14 matinee will be transmitted live as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which reaches more than 2,000 movie theaters in 73 countries around the world.

For further information, including casting by date, please visit www.metopera.org.

At a luncheon with Met patrons and donors, general manager, Peter Gelb, addressed the controversy, stating, "As everyone in this room knows, The Met has recently been facing a very painful and challenging trial. But while the Metropolitan Opera has been shaken, it still stands strong."

Over a year ago, a man filed a police report saying Levine had abused him in the 1980's. The Met was made aware of this report but did not act on it until recent media inquiries were made into Levine's conduct.

The Met released the following statement regarding the issue:

The Metropolitan Opera announced today that it is suspending its relationship with James Levine, pending an investigation, following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct committed by Mr. Levine that took place from the 60's to the 80's, including the earlier part of his conducting career at the Met.

Mr. Levine will not be involved in any Met activities, including conducting scheduled performances at the Met this season. The Met has appointed Robert J. Cleary, former United States attorney and currently head of the investigations practice at Proskauer Rose, to lead a full and complete investigation into the relevant facts.

"Based on these new reports, the Met has made the decision to act now, while we await the results of the investigation," said Peter Gelb, Met General Manager, whose actions are fully supported by the leadership of the Met Board and its Executive Committee. "This is a tragedy for anyone whose life has been affected."

There will be no further comments or statement regarding this issue from the Met at this time.

Over the course of his career, Levine has conducted more than 2,560 performances at the Met in a broad-ranging repertory. He served as the company's Music Director from 1976 to 2016 and retired at the end of 2016 to become the Met's first Music Director Emeritus.

Photo by Adam Nemser-PHOTOlink