A famous conductor of the New York Metropolitan Opera has been fired following allegations he sexually abused and harassed a string of male musicians.
James Levine, 74, who has long been a power house of the Met, was let go on Monday after the an investigation found the musician had engaged ‘in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists’.
The Metropolitan Opera opened an investigation in December, interviewing more than 70 people. Some accounts of his abuse include forcing mutual masturbation among his students.
Metropolitan Opera Music Director Emeritus James Levine, 74, was fired Monday after the Met launched an investigation and found history of sexual abuse and harassment, pictured above in 2006
The famous conductor debuted at the Met back in 1971, but an investigation conducted by the company in December found accounts of sexual assault dating back to the 1960s
Levine has had a 46-year career at the met and has become an name synonymous with the Met, instantly recognizable with his bushy hair, round glasses, and towel draped over his shoulders during rehearsals
Levine was iconic at the Met, instantly recognizable by his bushy frock of hair and towel draped over a shoulder during rehearsals and with an impressive career that saw him conduct at Vienna Philharmonic and Salzburg Festival.
Monday it was announced that an investigation found abuse accounts from ‘both before and during the period’ of his 46-year musical career at the Met.
Although the specific findings have not been released the Met announced that it ‘uncovered credible evidence’ of Levine’s abusive history to those under his authority.
‘The investigation uncovered credible evidence that Mr. Levine had engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct both before and during the period when he worked at the Met,’ the Met said in a statement.
‘The investigation also uncovered credible evidence that Mr. Levine engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers, over whom Mr. Levine had authority. In light of these findings, the Met concludes that it would be inappropriate and impossible for Mr. Levine to continue to work at the Met,’ the statement added.
The investigation was led by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Cleary.
The New York Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center (above) announced his removal Monday
Levine had conducted 2,552 performances at the Met and also conducted in esteemed productions across the globe including Vienna Philharmonic and Salzburg Festival
Levine, above, saw his career decline however due to his health. He stepped down as music director two season ago due to Parkinson’s disease
The accounts against Levine include the claims of four men, some of whom were teenagers or the conductor’s students at the time of the abuse which involved masturbation
Although the specific finding have not been released several of his past pupils have come forward attesting to his behavior that included mutual masturbation.
The Met launched an investigation after the New York Times reported accusations of Levine’s sexual abuse, which occurred while some victims were his students.
Levine responded to those accusations calling them ‘unfounded’ and that ‘I have not lived my life as an oppressor or an aggressor’.
The article revealed the account of Ashok Pai who reported to Lake Forest, Illinois police that he was 16 when he was abused by Levine after a Ravinia music festival.
The man said Levine held his hand in an ‘incredibly sensual way’ and the following summer lay naked with him in bed and touched his penis.
Levine was in his early 40s at the time.
Pai told Lake Forest Police of the incident in fall 2016 but law enforcement said they would not bring criminal charges against Levine saying that although the age of consent in Illinois is 17, it was 16 back in 1986 when the incident took place.
The New York Times also reported the accounts of three other students who were abused by Levine.
One alleged victim Chris Brown said that he was abused by Levine in the summer of 1968 when he was 17. He was a student at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan at the time where Levine led the school’s orchestral program.
The alleged abuse occurred in a dorm during night when Levine allegedly masturbated on him and asked him to reciprocate. When he declined to do so again Levine allegedly punished Brown by ignoring him for the rest of the summer program even while conducting him.
Albin Ifsich, another former student at Meadow Brook claimed he too suffered years of abuse at the hands of Levine, as he joined the clique that followed Levin to Cleveland then New York.
Last month it was announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin his successor would take over his role next season – two years before he was scheduled to
Nézet-Séguin, pictured above at the Met in New York on January 2018 will succeed Levine
Another alleged victim James Lestock was a cellist who claims he was abused one summer when he was a student and that the abuse continued in Cleveland where he followed Levin along with other musicians.
He said that at one point Levine had the group wear blindfolds then masturbate partners they could not see.
Responding to Levine’s firing from the Met, Lestock said he was ‘moved’ to see acknowledgement of Levine’s reign of abuse.
‘The truth can be very useful. The truth creates good,’ he said to The Times.
Rumors of his sexual abuse echoed through the Met for years.
Former Met Press representative documented that such rumors dated back to 1979 in her book Molto Agitato: The Mayhem Behind the Music at the Metropolitan Opera, published in 2001.
Despite the accusations against him, Levine’s career at the Met was slowly reeling to an end.
He stepped down as music director two season ago due to Parkinson’s disease.
He joined the met in 1971 and conducted 2,552 performances as music and artistic director.
After he stepped down he was still music director emeritus and the head of the young artists program.
He was suspended on December 3 however in wake of The Times’ first article of his sexual abuse.
Last month it was announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin his successor would take over his role next season – two years before he was scheduled to.
In 1983 he covered Time magazine with the headline ‘America’s Top Maestro’. Some considered Levine to be the greatest American conductor since Leonard Bernstein.
Levine has not commented on his firing.