Former Metropolitan Opera music director James Levine was fired Monday after an investigation into claims of sexual abuse “uncovered credible evidence,” according to a statement by the Met.
Levine officially retired as music director in April 2016, but had stayed on as music director emeritus and artistic director of the Met’s young artist program.
The more than three-month-long investigation involved interviews with more than 70 individuals, according to the Met.
“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,” according to the statement. “[It] also 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 Levine had authority.”
The Met reported, however, that they found no substantiating evidence that the Met’s management or its board of directors “engaged in a cover-up of information.”
