8/12/2019 Behind the Scenes With James Levine

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Along the way, Mr. Levine " who is conducting from a wheelchair but is full of focus,

energy and enthusiasm " provided some rare insights into the approaches that have

helped ma1e him one of the world#s leading opera conductors, and helped him shape the

Met#s orchestra and singers in 4,554 performances over more than 56 years. Here are

some of them-

ccentuating the Positive 

+n rehearsals, Mr. Levine did not stint on praise, and usually prefaced suggestions that

might sound li1e criticism with something positive.

$&ol1s, you are as hot as you can be,( he told the orchestra after it ran through the

overture to 7erdi#s $7espri 8iciliani.( He paused during a reading of *lliott arter#s

$7ariations for Orchestra( to tell them, $Oh, boy, it was good up to there.( He liberally

used his free hand, the one not holding the baton, to flash thumbs9up signs or, from time

to time, to 1iss his fingers. And he often singled out particular sections of the orchestra,

saying things li1e, $'rombones, that sound was tremendous:( or, $elli, it was great.(

He could still be demanding in trying to draw the sound he wanted from the orchestra,or from singers, as he ran through small sections again and again and again. At one

 point, he interrupted a singer with a ;uestion- $+#ve changed the tempo already " can

you ta1e the one +#ve got<(

=ut, more often, he was ;uic1 to praise, especially in the $os%( rehearsals. $>ere you

happy up to there<( he as1ed +sabel Leonard, the me!!o9soprano singing ?orabella,

after she performed her aria $8manie implacabili.( $+ was thrilled. 0ou got a big range

of melodrama in and out, so that it#s funny and it#s frightening and it#s full of sharp

contrasts and it really wor1s. +t#s a sensational piece, an aria not li1e any others.(

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And he brought one rehearsal to a halt after Matthew @olen!ani, the lyric tenor playing

&errando, sang the aria $n# aura amorosa( and won a sustained ovation from the

orchestra.

$'hat#s a piece of singing, isn#t it<( Mr. Levine as1ed. 'he ne)t day, at the piano

rehearsal, he told Mr. @olen!ani- $'he aria was the best9sung +#ve ever heard it. Justwonderful.(

Mr. @olen!ani said in an interview that Mr. Levine#s manner helped him draw great

 performances out of musicians and singers.

$He loves the people in this orchestra, and it#s obvious when you hear him tal1ing to

them,( he said. $/ever a harsh word. His harshest word is still delivered with a

teacherly air, rather than a, Bould you please just ...# 0ou never hear that from him.(

+t is not a universal approach, Mr. @olen!ani noted. $+#ve seen it so many times, terrible

e)amples of conductors who can#t give a single bravo,( he said. $+#ve actually said to people " friendly, sitting around at a bar, just chatting " you#ll get a lot more out of

your singers, if you somehow give them the idea that they#re doing some things that you

li1e. /obody wants to wor1 for somebody who doesn#t li1e them. >e#re just going to

not li1e you bac1.(

=ut singers li1e wor1ing with Mr. Levine. $He never gives you a note without first

telling you that he li1es what#s going on,( Mr. @olen!ani said. $+t#s, BListen, Matt, it#s

really fantastic, what + could use a little more of is ...# (

4rawing the Sturm und 4rang From a 5erdi "verture  

Mr. Levine does not always rely on musical terminology when telling the Met Orchestra

what he#s loo1ing for.

onsider his instructions to the players during a recent rehearsal of a particularly fiery

 passage in the overture to 7erdi#s $7espri 8iciliani,( which they plan to play at a

concert in arnegie Hall in October. $*verything stormy,( Mr. Levine told them,

$everything with a ma)imum of turmoil and conflict " you 1now, mobs that are 1illing

each other, for what they thin1 are very good reasons.(

'hen, when the violent episode had passed, and a soaring melody entered in the strings,he had another piece of advice that might not be taught in the conservatory. $@lay the

whole thing as if you thought my tempo was too fast,( he said. $ight< 'ry to s;uee!e

more time.(

4ialogue Coach and Stage 4irector 

+t was not just music that Mr. Levine wor1ed on with the young $os%( cast. At times he

sounded, variously, li1e a dialogue coach, a dramaturge or even a stage director helping

the singers understand their motivations.

He pushed for speed at 1ey dramatic moments in the recitative- $+f you 1eep waiting beats, we don#t believe anything.( He stressed diction, saying that $the more rolled #s +

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can have, the better my +talian ear will li1e it.( And he urged the singers to $be sure that

the variety and presence of the language is what#s ma1ing the 'echnicolor of the sound

 " whereas if you 1eep the te)t more neutral, everything will be pear9shaped.(

Mr. Levine gave character advice, too. >hen the two officers at the center of $os%(

disguise themselves as Albanians to test the constancy of their sweethearts by trying toseduce them, Mr. Levine urged the tenor, Mr. @olen!ani, and the baritone, odion

@ogossov, to lay it on thic1.

$0ou#re playing some 1ind of e)otic, erotic lover that has nothing to do with who you

were when you were wearing a soldier uniform,( he said. $+t is even important for the

audience, + thin1, to reali!e that the costume unloc1s things in them that the soldier#s

uniform doesn#t " li1e mas1s.(

And he paid close attention to moments when he felt that the singers should

communicate something to the audience beyond what was detailed in the libretto. &or

the entrance of ?espina, the sassy maid, who comes on with one of those opera9servants9bemoaning9their9lot9in9life numbers, Mr. Levine cautioned the soprano

?anielle de /iese, who is singing the role, not to ta1e the te)t too literally.

$0ou#re tal1ing to yourself, you#re tal1ing to us,( he told her. $*ven though you#re

complaining, you 1now your life is good. 0eah< 'herefore it#s very important we don#t

encounter this woman who is an old harridan and says, $Oh 2od, this life stin1s:(

ight< 'hat isn#t who she is. 2ive us some energy.(

At the end of the day, he urged the cast not to merely mimic what they were rehearsing.

$*ach time we leave one of these recitative interpretation things, + don#t want you to

Mic1ey Mouse it or imitate it " + always want you to find it in yourself,( he said. $+t#s

only that +#m trying to show you which direction is going to add up to the best shot with

what comes before, with what comes after. And if you don#t understand or you don#t

agree, for 2od#s sa1es, spea1 up whenever you want.(

Coa6ing a High -ote 

>hen 8usanna @hillips, the soprano singing &iordiligi, sang her showstopping aria

$ome scoglio( during a rehearsal, she found that it was rehearsal9stopping as well- the

orchestra paused to pay her the e)tra tribute of applauding and, in the strings, tappingtheir bows. =ut when the cast met the ne)t day for a piano rehearsal with Mr. Levine,

there was one passage of fast runs and a high note that he wanted to burnish.

$/ow, when you come to this , you#re about to sing, ma1e sure you use all the time

there is " +#ll show you,( Mr. Levine said, singing the music out in vocables for her.

$>e want you in your voice there " right< " so you don#t feel that you have to throw

it, and it#s gone. +t was e)cellent what you did, but + just could tell that your voice, you

had something really spectacular which + wanted to get.(

8inger and conductor discussed where best to breathe. $0ou 1now what else you might

want to do<( Mr. Levine suggested. $0ou want to breathe before the upbeat to the long

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&, just because it#s so o)ygenating. +t isn#t that you need it to sing the note, but + thin1

that it might feel good.(

'hey practiced the line a few more times. $How does that feel<( Mr. Levine as1ed. $+f it

feels funny, you can do what you were doing.(

More practice, and he was pleased.

$+t#s stunning now,( he told her. $A really stunning, blooming note " and in a place

where we all love it.(

Ms. @hillips, C4, once sang a piece with Mr. Levine for a chamber program, but has

never done an opera with him.

$He ma1es everybody sound better,( she said in an interview. $He finds the right tempo

of the piece to ma1e you sound the best. 2iving you time, giving you permission to do

something " 1nowing that you have a full beat to ta1e that breath, 1nowing that youhave a full bar to sing that note. +t#s not actually longer. +t#s just " rela), and the voice

opens up. He#s never overindulgent, but he always finds time within the structure.(

8he said that she felt inspired by him, and noted the many great &iordiligis he has

wor1ed with over the years, including arol 7aness, Diri 'e Danawa, enEe &leming

and many others.

$He wor1ed with them in this same way, and to 1now that +#m getting that same 1ind of

leadership in this part " + won#t forget the things that he#s said,( she said. $+t is,

honestly, in every sense of the word, unbelievable to be able to wor1 with him on this

 particular part, because he loves this opera so much.(