This was on display in the "new books" and being an "occasional fan" of opera I decided to give it a look. The product of a musical family, James Levine was assistant conductor to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the amazingly young age of 21. By 1971 he had his debut conducting at the MET at the age of 27. In 1973 he took over as principal conductor and has been leading that acclaimed company ever since including premiering 50 different operas never before performed by the company. His conducting style is one of guiding the musicians rather than terrorizing them. (I've played under a few conductors who should take lessons from him.) This book is full of photos of the many different operas and singers Levine has conducted. He gives wonderful commentary on his work with individual singers and the different operas he conducted. The performers give their praise of the Maestro also. All speak of the gentle guidance he gives and how he works with their talents rather than trying to push them to do things they cannot. It's a wonderful homage to an amazing talent.
While reading this book I realized that my increasing appreciation of opera is directly related to the work Levine has done, especially the numerous PBS broadcasts of live operas. Many of the photos were from broadcasts I remember watching. Others made me long to some day attend a performance at Lincoln Center.
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