James Levine Sues Metropolitan Opera For Defamation And Breach Of Contract

Just three days after the company fired the conductor for “sexually abusive and harassing conduct,” Levine has filed a legal action for more than $5.8 million. “It was only upon learning that the allegations would be published in the press,” argues the filing, “that the Met and Gelb, cynically hijacking the good will of the #MeToo movement, brazenly seized on these allegations as a pretext to end a longstanding personal campaign to force Levine out of the Met and cease fulfilling its legally enforceable financial commitments to him.”

There’s No Problem At All With Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Working Culture, Investigation Finds

“The review was commissioned amid speculation of a poor working culture at the [company] after it was reported close to half of the 36 dancers it employed were leaving, and not all by choice, at the end of 2017. The substance of any specific allegations made or the responses to them were not within the scope of the review, which looked more at how complaints had been managed and its general working policies.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.15.18

The Big Crack
The vintage-candy vault is a Brooklyn cliché, like stoop ball, stickball, new pink Spaldings (Spawl-DEENS) down the grate. … read more
AJBlog: Out There Published 2018-03-15

Bill Frisell And Brad Mehldau: Alone
Their recording histories encompass dozens of collaborations, but in their new albums two of the most prolific recording artists in modern music go it alone. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-03-15

Mieczyslaw Weinberg on Film
Is Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) a third Soviet composer to set beside Shostakovich and Prokofiev? An increasing number of musicians seem to think so, including the peerless Latvian-born violinist Gidon Kremer, himself a product of Soviet training. … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-03-15

Beware the Eve of the Ides of March
Today is the Ides of March, so I should have known better than to go to a performance yesterday of Julius Caesar at London’s new theatre, The Bridge. Remember, it was on … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2018-03-15

Atlanta Ballet To Increase Its Ranks By Almost A Third

“Two years ago, when Atlanta Ballet appointed Gennadi Nedvigin as its fourth artistic director, he voiced a vision to increase the company’s size, add a main stage production in the fall, and appear in new venues in Atlanta and beyond. Despite a major turnover last spring, he’s well on his way to realizing that vision. Atlanta Ballet is announcing its 2018-19 season with plans to expand the company from 32 to 42 artists.”