“In a suit filed Friday by the Metropolitan Opera, five men have made newly public accusations against conductor and pianist James Levine, who was closely associated with the Met for four decades,” writes Anastasia Tsioulcas on Saturday (5/19) at National Public Radio. “In total, nine men have now come forward, either by name or anonymously, with accusations against Levine. Levine was fired by the Met in March … after he faced public allegations of sexual misconduct that surfaced last December, which resulted in his suspension from the famed New York opera house. In response, Levine sued the Met in March for defamation and breach of contract. On Friday, the Met filed a countersuit that chronicles allegations made by seven men, including five individuals whose accusations were not previously public…. The Met claims that it discovered these new accusations over the course of its internal investigation of Levine; the timeline of those allegations span … the mid-1970s … until 1999. These five newly emerged accusers are in addition to two men who have already accused Levine publicly … and whose allegations are included in Friday’s filing by the Met…. Levine has not responded to repeated requests from NPR for comment.”
Posted May 21, 2018
