James Levine speaks
(Photo by Michele McDonald/Globe Staff)
The Boston Symphony Orchestra's oft-injured maestro James Levine checked in earlier today from New York, where he's preparing to lead the Metropolitan Opera's premiere of "Rheingold." Levine said he feels great after two-plus weeks of rehearsals. He's not gettting cocky, though.
"I frankly wish we were having this conversation after we do my first performance," he said, when asked how he felt. "Otherwise, it’s all speculative. What can you write until I get up there and either I can do it or I can’t do it? I had a huge surgery and the purpose of the surgery was to take away, with a lot of surgical correction, pain that was making it really impossible to work without distraction. Now when I work I have literally a whole body that doesn’t have a pain in it. It’s kind of like a miracle."
In the interview, Levine also address concerns about his ambitious conducting schedule, both here and in New York, and his future with the BSO. Expect to read more in an upcoming article in the Globe.
