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James Levine Under Investigation For Sexual Abuse


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28 minutes ago, nanushka said:

There's a huge difference between saying what Nelsons said and saying that art offers "solace and strength"— particularly since the preceding two paragraphs from the musicians' statement make it clear that they are concerned about the very real possibility that the Levine allegations are true.

Yes you're right there is a difference in degree, but the statement of remorse would have been so much stronger without that final paragraph. It's as if their art is going to keep them from meditating and feeling some sort of penance for their part in Levine's actions, even if it was only subliminally noticed by many of them. I feel art shouldn't be an escape of beautiful shimmering surfaces, it should be an engagement.

I also posted the comments because they seem to have a higher degree of denial of the importance of what has happened than those that were made to articles about Lauer and the others. 

Edited by Quiggin
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12 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

I also posted the comments because they seem to have a higher degree of denial of the importance of what has happened than those that were made to articles about Lauer and the others. 

Norman Lebrecht provides a forum comparatively free of rational discourse.

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17 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

Yes you're right there is a difference in degree, but the statement of remorse would have been so much stronger without that final paragraph. It's as if their art is going to keep them from meditating and feeling some sort of penance for their part in Levine's actions, even if it was only subliminally noticed by many of them. I feel art shouldn't be an escape of beautiful shimmering surfaces, it should be an engagement.

I hear you, but considering that this is a public statement by the musicians collectively, I hardly think we should expect that they'd have taken a less balanced stance, at this point when the investigation has only just begun.

 

Edited by nanushka
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14 hours ago, Quiggin said:

Here is part of the statement that the Met musicians released – in a way not so different from Nelsons:

Many of the comments that follow the musicians statement make light of the investigation and support Levine –

http://slippedisc.com/2017/12/met-musicians-issues-statement-on-james-levine/#comments

 

I like " As we find ourselves joining a critical national conversation, we feel fortunate to be able to share the power of musical expression with our audience and work to make our society stronger."

So much more tactful than "As we find our revered leader publicly outed as a sex offender........"

Interesting that there is no reference at all to what the musicians themselves might or might not have known. Of course I can understand the difficulty of their position. Levine has been the Met orchestra's chief champion and benefactor - it's no exaggeration to say everything they are today is because of his talents and efforts. Did any of them remain silent because of that?

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Can I just say one thing relating to all of this? Well, two things. First, it’s about time that sexual improprieties and harassment, and sex crimes, are taken seriously. Glad to see it. 

But also: We shouldn’t say “Everybody knew about it.” No, everybody didn’t. Everybody heard the rumors, which is a very different thing. And when we spread rumors about something as serious as the sexual molestation of minors, we contribute to the kind of atmosphere of whispering scandal and shame that makes it unlikely victims will ever want to come forward.

(And sometimes, just possibly, you’ll help slander somebody in a really terrible way  I know—I did it once and it haunts me forever. You can never undo the damage.)

When you’re not the victim or haven’t heard a first-hand account, it’s a really hard call. When do you speak, and to whom? I don’t know. But over the years I heard so many people mention this with a kind of smirk, as if it were a sick joke. Children being molested—It’s not a laughing matter!

If you DO know something, you have to call the authorities, even if the victim doesn’t want it. Otherwise it just keeps going on.  

 

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16 hours ago, Anthony_NYC said:

Can I just say one thing relating to all of this? Well, two things. First, it’s about time that sexual improprieties and harassment, and sex crimes, are taken seriously. Glad to see it. 

But also: We shouldn’t say “Everybody knew about it.” No, everybody didn’t. Everybody heard the rumors, which is a very different thing. And when we spread rumors about something as serious as the sexual molestation of minors, we contribute to the kind of atmosphere of whispering scandal and shame that makes it unlikely victims will ever want to come forward.

(And sometimes, just possibly, you’ll help slander somebody in a really terrible way  I know—I did it once and it haunts me forever. You can never undo the damage.)

When you’re not the victim or haven’t heard a first-hand account, it’s a really hard call. When do you speak, and to whom? I don’t know. But over the years I heard so many people mention this with a kind of smirk, as if it were a sick joke. Children being molested—It’s not a laughing matter!

If you DO know something, you have to call the authorities, even if the victim doesn’t want it. Otherwise it just keeps going on.  

 

You are right to point this out, Anthony_NYC. And company/office gossip can be dead wrong.

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The Times reports on the latest developments in the Levine case:

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The Metropolitan Opera fired James Levine on Monday evening, ending its association with a conductor who defined the company for more than four decades after an investigation found what the Met called credible evidence that Mr. Levine had engaged in “sexually abusive and harassing conduct.”

The investigation, which the Met opened in December after a report in The New York Times, found evidence of abuse and harassment “both before and during the period” when Mr. Levine worked at the Met, the company said in a statement. The Met did not release the specific findings of its investigation, which it said had included interviews with 70 people.

The statement also said that the investigation had “uncovered credible evidence that Mr. Levine engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct toward vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers, over whom Mr. Levine had authority,” adding that he was also being fired as the artistic director of the Met’s young artists program.

 

Edited by nanushka
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Here is the Met's complete statement:

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March 12, 2018

Statement regarding James Levine

After considering the findings of a thorough investigation conducted by outside counsel that lasted more than three months, the Metropolitan Opera has terminated its relationship with James Levine as Music Director Emeritus and Artistic Director of its young artist program.

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 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 investigation also found that any claims or rumors that members of the Met’s management or its Board of Directors engaged in a cover-up of information relating to these issues are completely unsubstantiated.

We thank the more than 70 individuals who were interviewed during the course of the investigation.

We recognize the great concerns over these issues that have been expressed by the Met community both inside and outside of the opera house, and wish to provide the assurance that the Met is committed to ensuring a safe, respectful and harassment-free workplace for its employees and artists.

 

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And yet another development:

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The conductor James Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera for breach of contract and defamation on Thursday, three days after the company he led for more than four decades fired him when an investigation found he had “engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct.”

 

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This is a disaster for the Met. I thank the stars that as bad as the situation is at NYCB (leaderless), it is not as bad as this. I have spent many, many transcendent hours at the opera house in the 16 years since I began attending opera, many with Maestro Levine himself. The Met has a real chance at revitalization with the dynamic incoming Yannick Nezet-Seguin. I will be tremendously relieved when that comes to pass. 

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On 3/18/2018 at 7:46 AM, cobweb said:

This is a disaster for the Met. I thank the stars that as bad as the situation is at NYCB (leaderless), it is not as bad as this. I have spent many, many transcendent hours at the opera house in the 16 years since I began attending opera, many with Maestro Levine himself. The Met has a real chance at revitalization with the dynamic incoming Yannick Nezet-Seguin. I will be tremendously relieved when that comes to pass. 

NYCB is not leaderless - they happen to have a team functioning in the various A.D. roles - which is testament to the fact that there's often too much for one person to do effectively. Just what defines a "leader" varies from one culture to another (and that goes for company cultures and local communities as well as broader national cultures).

Cultures that think having a single dictatorial leader (with the first and last word on everything) is better than a team sharing responsibilities, don't really have proof of the 'betterness' of their situation. It's just what they are used to - and change is frightening (and apparently not worth thinking about or planning for).

Will NYCB likely return to using a single A.D.? Probably, because that's what the company culture and audience culture are so used to. All the soul-searching and needed modifications coming from 'lessons learned' are likely to dissipate fairly quickly. I'm not hopeful yet that there will be permanent changes to how the board and staff go about business at NYCB or the Met.

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The Met has filed a counter-suit, according to the New York Times:

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Two months ago, the conductor James Levine, having been fired by the Metropolitan Opera for sexual misconduct, sued the company for breach of contract and defamation. Now the Met is suing him back, arguing in court papers filed on Friday that Mr. Levine harmed the company, and detailing previously unreported accusations of sexual harassment and abuse against him.

Numerous new and detailed allegations are described in the article.

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Thanks, abatt. Unsurprising. This was central, I think:

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Were the case to have entered the deposition phase, there would have been risks to both sides. The case could have put into the public record more details of the accusations against Mr. Levine, and about his closely guarded private life; before the suit was settled, Mr. Levine’s lawyers had been fighting a request by the Met for his medical records. And it could have renewed questions about what the Met knew, or should have known, about the behavior of its longtime music director, given the misconduct it said it had found evidence of.

Also, Levine had no morals clause in his contract. Smart thinking on the part of Levine or his lawyer.

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Aaannd...the Met paid $3.5 million to Levine to settle. Again, unsurprising. I'm sure he knows where lots of bodies are buried.

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The Met’s multimillion-dollar payment to Mr. Levine came before the coronavirus pandemic forced the company to close its theater — leaving many employees, including its orchestra and chorus, furloughed without pay since April. Even when the deal was struck, the Met’s finances were precarious. Now the company is fighting for its survival.

 

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On 9/28/2020 at 12:12 PM, abatt said:

The Met paid approximately $2.6 million of the settlement, and its insurers paid the rest -about $900K, -according to the article.

Still a giant chunk of change, especially at this time. Levine was asking for more but if you consider that he wouldn't have been working much, if at all, during the pandemic he pretty much got what he asked for --  even if, as the article says, he had to be talked into taking the settlement.

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Well, he didn't have much time to enjoy the additional millions. 

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He was generally adored by singers, however. He discovered, nurtured and coached a whole generation of high-calibre artists, among them James Morris (the leading Wotan for some 20 years), Aprile Millo, Kathleen Battle and Maria Ewing. Sherrill Milnes, Teresa Stratas and Plácido Domingo were others much cultivated in the Levine years. Not all of these, by any means, had large, traditionally operatic voices and sometimes there were complaints that they were drowned by the orchestra. But Levine, with his equable disposition and encouraging smile, had the ability and the charisma to get the best out of his singers.

Related.

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The situation my friend found himself working with Levine in was truly bizarre. At the end of each run of performances he would go to the maestro’s office. There he would see Levine and his brother Tom. My friend was not allowed to speak to Levine directly, but would say to Tom something like “I thought the first movement was the best on Sunday and the other three better on Saturday.” Then Tom would turn to James Levine and say “_________ says “the first movement was the best on Sunday and the other three better on Saturday.””

 

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