The American conductor, who has led the New York opera company for 45 years, will be Music Director Emeritus from 2017.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York has announced that James Levine, the illustrious American conductor who has been music director at the Met since 1976, will retire at the end of the company’s current season due to health reasons. Levine is suffering from the degenerative neurological condition Parkinson’s disease. 

In recent years, Levine has had several hiatuses from the podium resulting from a string of health issues including kidney cancer, torn muscles in his right shoulder and a significant spinal injury, which forced him to withdraw from the majority of performances from 2011 until 2013. However, after overcoming tremendous odds, Levine’s Parkinson’s has now progressed to the point where his movements are no longer controllable. Levine will continue to shepherd the Met as its Music Director Emeritus, and while he will no longer be a regular fixture in the pit, he does still intend to conduct a handful of productions next season, including Rossini’s L’Italiana in Alegri, Verdi’s Nabucco and Mozart’s Idomeneo. 

Levine’s contribution to opera in America and throughout the world is almost peerless, cementing the Met’s reputation...