The general manager of the New York’s Metropolitan Opera says no artist had as profound an impact on the organizations history as conductor James Levine.

Peter Gelb says Levine raised the Met’s musical standards to new and greater heights.  However, his stay in New York was not without controversy.

In 2016. after four decades at the Met’s helm, Levine retired and became conductor emeritus.  He was fired two years later amid allegations of sexual impropriety.

According to his doctor, Levine died of natural causes in Palm Springs, California.

He was 77.