James Levine Steps Down as Music Director of the Met Opera

In a press release that was quickly followed by a New York Times article, the Met Opera has announced that James Levine, its music director for the past forty years, is stepping down for reasons of health.  No new director has yet been named though Yannick Nézet-Séguin, currently music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, is often mentioned.  For me, the loss of Mr. Levine is personal.  Ever since I first began attending the opera almost thirty years ago, I have been lucky enough to have lived within walking distance of any number of performances conducted by Mr. Levine.  It would be fair to say that it is he who has shaped my entire understanding of what opera is and how valuable a resource it provides.  Just last week, I attended a stellar performance of Simon Boccanegra starring Plácido Domingo that was expertly led by Mr. Levine.  Although he will continue as "music director emeritus," whatever that may mean, his vision at the helm of the company will be sorely missed.

The news was accompanied by a rather obnoxious column by Anthony Tommasini. the Times music critic whose judgment has in the past so often been suspect that one sometimes wonders if he has actually heard the performances he critiques.  After tossing Mr. Levine a bone ("'Music director emeritus' is an honor — the capstone of a career, and hardly its finale."), Mr. Tommasini went on to disparage the beloved conductor with such pithy remarks as  "For many years now, Mr. Levine has not adequately fulfilled these responsibilities [as music director]" and "The time has come for a real music director to step in and bring new energy and vision."  Please.  In the entire history of the Met no one has done so much for that institution as Mr. Levine.  Almost single handedly he has overcome the apathy with which an increasingly less educated (at least as concerns the liberal arts) public views the entire genre.  It is well understood that opera has been on the decline for almost a century, at least partly as a result of the cataclysmic cultural changes that followed the end of World War I.  If it were not for the tireless efforts of Mr. Levine, Met audiences would undoubtedly be much smaller than they are now and whatever future opera may still have would be severely jeopardized.  Before taking issue with Mr. Levine for failing to stage a new opera every season, the critic should first determine where exactly these worthy works are to be found.  Even new operas of quality, such as those of John Adams and Philip Glass, have had difficulty attracting audiences, the majority of whom would rather see La bohème yet again, assuming of course that they are willing to take the time to see anything at all.  To bring a second rate work to the stage simply because it is "new" would be disastrous.  In short, I would much rather trust Mr. Levine's judgment as to what works deserve to be shown.