Dolor descends on the New York opera world as it is announced that James Levine, who slipped and fell at a recent Boston Symphony performance, is undergoing rotator-cuff surgery and canceling his Met appearances for the remainder of the season — the new Don Pasquale, Lohengrin and Fidelio with Karita Mattila, the traditional Easter-time Parsifal, and (this must have been an especially hard decision) the Joseph Volpe farewell gala. Let's hope for some interesting guest-conductor choices to make up in part for the loss of the Levine touch. The announcement puts in relief the fact that Levine has been a rock of dependability throughout his Met career. All wish the Maestro a speedy recovery. I went through months of rotator-cuff problems last year, and it was no fun.
