W-OLF
03-13-2006, 12:52 AM
Met Conductor to Miss Rest of Season
Published: 3/12/06, 4:46 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) - Conductor James Levine will miss the rest of the Metropolitan Opera's season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Levine, music director of the Met and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was injured March 1 when he tripped and fell on the stage of Boston's Symphony Hall during ovations that followed a performance.
While initial tests showed there were no broken bones, an MRI exam and X-rays revealed a torn rotator cuff, an injury more common to baseball pitchers than conductors.
Met general manager Joseph Volpe, who met with Levine on Friday, said in a telephone interview Saturday that the conductor likely would need a three-month recovery time following the operation.
"The doctors are not going to let him start early," Volpe said. "The problem is raising your arm."
Levine, who has led more than 2,000 performances at the Met, will be absent from the podium for his longest stretch in more than three decades, canceling appearances in Beethoven's "Fidelio" that were to start March 20, a new production of Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" that opens March 31, plus revivals of Wagner's "Lohengrin" and "Parsifal."
He also will miss the season-closing gala on May 20 honoring Volpe, who is retiring Aug. 1, and the Met's June tour in Japan, where he was to conduct Wagner's "Die Walkuere" and Mozart's "Don Giovanni."
"Nobody regrets this more than I do, and I can only express the enormous disappointment and frustration I feel," Levine, 62, said in a statement.
Mark Volpe, the orchestra's managing director, said Levine would have surgery on March 20.
"He wanted to get this addressed quickly," driven by his next scheduled appearance with the BSO on July 7 at the opening night of Tanglewood, in Lenox, Mass., said Mark Volpe, who is not related to Joseph Volpe.
On Sept. 25, he is to return to the Met for Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," the opening-night performance after Peter Gelb succeeds Volpe as general manager.
Levine made his Met debut in 1971 and has become the company's central figure. He was appointed principal conductor in 1973, music director in 1976 and artistic director in 1986. His title was downgraded back to music director for the 2004-05 when he assumed his job with the BSO.
Gelb said last month that he made Levine a lifetime offer to remain as music director. Levine said he would stay at least through the 2012-13 season.
Levine is overweight, has had a tremor in his left arm for about a decade and in recent years has been bothered by sciatica. Several years ago, he began to conduct from a chair.
Volpe hopes Levine will address his health during the unprecedented layoff.
"I think it's an opportunity for him to really take the time now, that he has the time, to look at all of his medical needs," Volpe said.
Maurizio Benini will take over as conductor of "Don Pasquale," according to Volpe, and a decision on a "Fidelio" conductor could be made as soon as Monday, when Levine was to have started rehearsals. The "Parsifal" performances mark Ben Heppner's debut in the title role.
"Maybe with 'Parsifal,' because it's only three performances and a limited rehearsal time, we'll be able to get someone really good," Volpe said.
Valery Gergiev, the Met's principal guest conductor, and James Conlon also were scheduled to conduct with Levine at the Volpe gala. Volpe hopes to add a couple of conductors to replace Levine at that event.
credit BellSouth
Published: 3/12/06, 4:46 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) - Conductor James Levine will miss the rest of the Metropolitan Opera's season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Levine, music director of the Met and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was injured March 1 when he tripped and fell on the stage of Boston's Symphony Hall during ovations that followed a performance.
While initial tests showed there were no broken bones, an MRI exam and X-rays revealed a torn rotator cuff, an injury more common to baseball pitchers than conductors.
Met general manager Joseph Volpe, who met with Levine on Friday, said in a telephone interview Saturday that the conductor likely would need a three-month recovery time following the operation.
"The doctors are not going to let him start early," Volpe said. "The problem is raising your arm."
Levine, who has led more than 2,000 performances at the Met, will be absent from the podium for his longest stretch in more than three decades, canceling appearances in Beethoven's "Fidelio" that were to start March 20, a new production of Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" that opens March 31, plus revivals of Wagner's "Lohengrin" and "Parsifal."
He also will miss the season-closing gala on May 20 honoring Volpe, who is retiring Aug. 1, and the Met's June tour in Japan, where he was to conduct Wagner's "Die Walkuere" and Mozart's "Don Giovanni."
"Nobody regrets this more than I do, and I can only express the enormous disappointment and frustration I feel," Levine, 62, said in a statement.
Mark Volpe, the orchestra's managing director, said Levine would have surgery on March 20.
"He wanted to get this addressed quickly," driven by his next scheduled appearance with the BSO on July 7 at the opening night of Tanglewood, in Lenox, Mass., said Mark Volpe, who is not related to Joseph Volpe.
On Sept. 25, he is to return to the Met for Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," the opening-night performance after Peter Gelb succeeds Volpe as general manager.
Levine made his Met debut in 1971 and has become the company's central figure. He was appointed principal conductor in 1973, music director in 1976 and artistic director in 1986. His title was downgraded back to music director for the 2004-05 when he assumed his job with the BSO.
Gelb said last month that he made Levine a lifetime offer to remain as music director. Levine said he would stay at least through the 2012-13 season.
Levine is overweight, has had a tremor in his left arm for about a decade and in recent years has been bothered by sciatica. Several years ago, he began to conduct from a chair.
Volpe hopes Levine will address his health during the unprecedented layoff.
"I think it's an opportunity for him to really take the time now, that he has the time, to look at all of his medical needs," Volpe said.
Maurizio Benini will take over as conductor of "Don Pasquale," according to Volpe, and a decision on a "Fidelio" conductor could be made as soon as Monday, when Levine was to have started rehearsals. The "Parsifal" performances mark Ben Heppner's debut in the title role.
"Maybe with 'Parsifal,' because it's only three performances and a limited rehearsal time, we'll be able to get someone really good," Volpe said.
Valery Gergiev, the Met's principal guest conductor, and James Conlon also were scheduled to conduct with Levine at the Volpe gala. Volpe hopes to add a couple of conductors to replace Levine at that event.
credit BellSouth