Wagner Biographies

James Levine (1943–2021)

James Levine

Since his June 5, 1971, debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Tosca, Music Director James Levine has developed a relationship with that company that is unparalleled in its history and unique in the musical world today. He conducted the first-ever Met performances of Mozart's Idomeneo and La Clemenza di Tito, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani, I Lombardi and Stiffelio, Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Schoenberg's Erwartung and Moses und Aron, Berg's Lulu, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini, as well as the world premieres of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles and John Harbison's The Great Gatsby.

James Levine has led nearly 2500 performances of 85 different operas at the Metropolitan Opera. His career ended, however, in a scandal over allegations of sexual improprieties.

At the Bayreuth Festival Levine conducted productions of Parsifal and Der Ring des Nibelungen.

James Levine at Bayreuth

1982

Parsifal (conductor)

1983

Parsifal (conductor)

1984

Parsifal (conductor)

1985

Parsifal (conductor)

1988

Parsifal (conductor)

1989

Parsifal (conductor)

1990

Parsifal (conductor)

1991

Parsifal (conductor)

1992

Parsifal (conductor)

1993

Parsifal (conductor)

1994

Das Rheingold (conductor)
Die Walküre (conductor)
Siegfried (conductor)
Götterdämmerung (conductor)

A new Ring at Bayreuth, usually called the "Rosalie Ring" or the "Designer Ring". Stage director was Alfred Kirchner, and the set and costume designer was Rosalie.

deborah polaski

Deborah Polaski as Brünnhilde in the Kirchner/Rosalie/Levine Ring at Bayreuth.

1995

Das Rheingold (conductor)
Die Walküre (conductor)
Siegfried (conductor)
Götterdämmerung (conductor)

1996

Das Rheingold (conductor)
Die Walküre (conductor)
Siegfried (conductor)
Götterdämmerung (conductor)

1997

Das Rheingold (conductor)
Die Walküre (conductor)
Siegfried (conductor)
Götterdämmerung (conductor)

1998

Das Rheingold (conductor)
Die Walküre (conductor)
Siegfried (conductor)
Götterdämmerung (conductor)

Selected Biographies

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One of the finest monuments in sound ever to have been raised to the everlasting glory of music. (Claude Debussy on Parsifal)

"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)

"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)

"People sometimes complain that Wagner operas are too long, that they get stiff and sore about 10.30 because they have rushed in to hear one of his works straight from work and are not properly prepared for listening to his music. The audience, as much as the artists, must be prepared for a performance."
(Benjamin Britten to Alan Blyth, Gramophone)

"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)

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