DIRECTOR JAMES LEVINE MAKES TRIUMPHANT COMEBACK IN THE MET'S LIVE IN HD PROGRAM; FALSTAFF TO AIR AT THE CLARK

For Immediate Release

December 04, 2013

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Music Director James Levine, in what is being called one of the most triumphant returns in the history of opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, conducts Verdi’sFalstaff on Saturday, December 14 at 2 pm. The production will be broadcast live at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at 12:55 pm. Tickets are $25 ($22 members, $18 students). To purchase tickets, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 0524. The complete 2013–14 Met: Live in HD schedule is also available on the Clark’s website.

Falstaff is based on Shakespeare’s Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was first performed in Milan in 1893; the first U.S. performance was at the Met in 1895. A comic opera in three acts, Falstaff delights audiences with the title character’s hilarious adventures as he attempts to woo women for financial gain with disastrous results. Ambrogio Maestri stars as the blustery title character.

Levine, who has spent more than two years recovering from a serious spinal cord injury, has conducted only twice since his injury: once last May, when he led the Met Orchestra in a concert at Carnegie Hall, and again in September, when he led a series of critically acclaimed performances of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. He recently said, “Because of my artistic life commitment to the Met, returning to conducting there is truly like being reborn.”

The New York Times called Levine “one of the greatest living American conductors and a musician who has defined the Metropolitan Opera for more than 40 years.” He also served as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004–2011.

Levine speaks passionately about the opera: “If you put all the great human comedies together,Falstaff is the crème de la crème—it’s the one that rises to the very top.”

Due to the construction activity and limited parking at the Clark, visitors should plan to arrive twenty minutes before the performance.

About the Clark

Set amidst 140 acres in the Berkshires, the Clark is one of the few major art museums that also serves as a leading international center for research and scholarship. The Clark presents public and education programs and organizes groundbreaking exhibitions that advance new scholarship. The Clark’s research and academic programs include an international fellowship program and conferences. Together with Williams College, the Clark sponsors one of the nation’s leading master’s programs in art history.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Stone Hill Center galleries are open; admission is free. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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