At the age of 34 James Levine is musical director of one of the great opera houses of the world, the Metropolitan in New York. He made his debut there in 1971 became principal conductor shortly afterwards and musical director in 1976. 'Opera was an early love of mine and I would say that 60 per cent of my artistic personality is theatrical. When I made my debut at the Met there was an instant rapport with the company which might have been some sort of honeymoon but as it turned out it grew stronger. When I was asked to become musical director I deliberated over it for six months simply because I wanted to be certain that it was the right thing for me and for the company'.

Believing in the benefits of staying in one place and developing the subtlest rapport with the musicians there, and feeling that an operatic base made sense at that point in his career, he decided to accept the post. 'I've never regretted it because even though the financial crisis is far from over the artistic crises seem to have passed. We've managed to forge a shape to this season and the next few seasons which gets us very close to the goals I envisioned, namely producing a much broader repertoire in all of the styles and maintaining the highest possible performance standards from night to night. 

'The whole attraction of opera is the integration of all the elements that the composer is in effect challenging us to solve; dramatic, textual, vocal, orchestral. and all kinds of issues that have to function together and there is no way you can conduct opera sucessfully if you imagine the elements can be separated. The responsibility for repertoire is shared by myself, John Dexter, the director of productions, and Richard Rojinsky, the artistic administrator. It seems to me that many people don't realize just what an opera company is all about. I loathe all the non-musical aspects of putting together an operatic performance but I don't see any way to avoid it. Some people think that all a musician does is call up a manager and say I want to do this opera with these artists, wait for the rehearsal, conduct and go home wrapped in cotton wool. I have never seen the best results achieved in that way'. Levine stresses the need for total involvement with the theatre and for a strong relationship with his musicians, which cannot be built up while guest conducting. 'Don't misunderstand me. I have had happy times guest conducting, but basically I'm a builder, a nester, and therefore this situation is very good for me'. 

This then is Levine's credo, the code by which he lives as man and musician, and it is the outcome of the widest possible musical education. He studied piano from the age of three and later worked with Walter Levin, first violin of the La Salle Quartet, on chamber music, orchestral repertoire, style, theory, score reading and interpretation. At the age of 13 he went to study with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Festival. 'Here I came in contact with a musical community that performed chamber, choral, operatic and symphonic music and I knew that that was where I belonged and from then on I made a very conscious effort to become the kind of musician who could ultimately perhaps conduct – I knew that my destiny had no longer anything to do with playing piano exclusively. Later I auditioned for a project sponsored for conductors by the Ford Foundation and George Szell heard me and invited me to come to Cleveland where I stayed as his assistant for six years. Szell had a brilliant insight into classical style and structure and being able to attend all his rehearsals, concerts and recording sessions I naturally absorbed a great deal and we spent a lot of time together at the piano analysing operatic and symphonic scores'. 

Levine's professional career really took flight in 1970 when he began to receive invitations to guest conduct opera and concerts in America and Europe and in 1971 he made his first commercial recording of Verdi's Giovanna d' Arco for EMI (5/73). 

He is now under exclusive contract to RCA. 'I believe the record market is overburdened with performances that aren't really record-worthy and to me a quantity of recordings is not important. All I want is to put certain things on record which I feel strongly about or which have some documentary value. I also restrict accompanying on disc to artists with whom I have a long and close working relationship. I do insist on complete takes so that the editors will cut from one take which has momentum to another. For me a recording should be realistic, clear and personal and I don't like recordings that sound cavernous, distant and anonymous". 

Levine now spends seven months of the year at the Metropolitan. He is also music director of the Ravinia Festival where he works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and organizes concerts, chamber music, masterclasses and seminars by inviting artists to visit for the one month of the Festival. In addition he is music director of the Cincinnati May Festival and has a yearly commitment to conduct opera and concerts at the Salzburg Festival. 'This gives me a chance to be in Europe for a month and to travel round and hear festival performances. In the rest of the season I have time for a couple of guest conducting engagements with orchestras such as the London Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic, but I have to turn down all operatic work outside the Met and Salzburg because it simply takes too much time'. 

I t is clear that J ames Levine is not a 'jet-set' conductor. He has his sights set on the highest possible artistic standards in whatever he does which is no doubt why this young man has already achieved such eminence in the world of professional music making.

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