Rhoda Levine
American opera director and choreographer (1932–2026)
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Rhoda Jane Levine (June 15, 1932 – January 6, 2026) was an American opera director, choreographer and a faculty member at several schools of music.
June 15, 1932
- Opera director
- choreographer
- educator
Rhoda Levine | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rhoda Jane Levine June 15, 1932 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 6, 2026 (aged 93) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Bard College (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1975–2026 |
| Employers | |
| Awards | National Institute for Music Theater Award |
Early life and career
Levine was born in New York City on June 15, 1932.[1][2] She wrote the libretto for Opus Number Zoo by Luciano Berio and also wrote children's books. She was the artistic director of Play It By Ear, an improvisational opera group.[3][4] She was the recipient of the National Institute for Music Theater Award. She got her BA at Bard College.[5]
In the summer, she taught at the John Duffy Composers Institute, in Norfolk, Virginia.[6]
Levine was a faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale School of Drama, The Juilliard School, and Northwestern University, and taught at Manhattan School of Music from 1992 and Mannes College and was a frequent guest teacher and visiting artist at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.
Personal life and death
Operas directed by Rhoda Levine
| Opera | Company | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porgy and Bess[4] | Cape Town Opera | 1996 | South African premiere |
| Der Kaiser von Atlantis[4] | Chicago Opera Theatre | Viktor Ullmann | |
| Orpheus Descending | Chicago Opera Theatre | World premiere | |
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Glimmerglass Opera | ||
| Lizzie Borden | Glimmerglass Opera | ||
| Rigoletto | Glimmerglass Opera | ||
| Little Women[4] | Glimmerglass Opera | By Adamo | |
| Susannah | Kentucky Opera | ||
| The Marriage of Figaro | Kentucky Opera | ||
| Der Kaiser von Atlantis | Nederlandse Opera | 1975 | Viktor Ullmann; world premiere |
| Le Nozze di Figaro | Nederlandse Opera | 1986 | |
| Lulu | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| From the House of the Dead | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| The Love for Three Oranges | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| The Fantasticks | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| Macbeth | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| Of Mice and Men | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| The Marriage of Figaro | Nederlandse Opera | ||
| Medea | New York City Opera | 1982 | Directing debut |
| Of Mice and Men | New York City Opera | 1997 | |
| Little Women[4] | New York City Opera | 2003 | By Adamo |
| Lizzie Borden | New York City Opera | 1996 | |
| Rigoletto | New York City Opera | ||
| The Ballad of Baby Doe | New York City Opera | ||
| X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X[4] | New York City Opera | World premiere; by Anthony Davis | |
| From the House of the Dead[4] | New York City Opera | American stage premiere; by Janacek | |
| Die Soldaten[4] | New York City Opera | By Zimmermann | |
| Mathis der Maler | New York City Opera | 1995 | |
| Wakonda's Dream[4] | Opera Omaha | By Anthony Davis | |
| Treemonisha | Opera Theatre of St. Louis | 2000 | |
| La Bohème | Opera Theatre of St. Louis | ||
| A Death in the Family | Opera Theatre of St. Louis | 1986 | |
| Under the Double Moon | Opera Theatre of St. Louis | World premiere | |
| Madama Butterfly | San Diego Opera | 1982 | |
| La Bohème | San Diego Opera | 1985 | |
| Lucia di Lammermoor | San Diego Opera | 1989 | |
| Of Mice and Men | San Diego Opera | 1999 | |
| Figaro | Santa Fe Opera | ||
| L'histoire du Soldat | Santa Fe Opera | 1987 | |
| Kabbalah | By Stewart Wallace | ||
| Where the Wild Things Are | Music composed by Oliver Knussen |
Additionally, she directed productions at Belgium's Opéra National; Scottish Opera; San Francisco Opera; Festival of the Two Worlds; Cabrillo Festival; and Holland Festival, and helmed and choreographed productions on and off-Broadway, in London's West End, and for CBS and WNET.
Books
- Levine, Rhoda (1961). Prince What-Shall-I-Do. Illustrated by Sandy Wilson. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 30222994.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Levine, Rhoda (1962). Arthur. OCLC 1651323.
- Levine, Rhoda (1963). The Quiet Story. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 1415095.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Levine, Rhoda (1963). Three Ladies beside the Sea. Illustrated by Edward Gorey. OCLC 1203946.
- Republished by the New York Review of Books in June 2010.
- Levine, Rhoda (1964). Harrison Loved His Umbrella. OCLC 1415085.
- Levine, Rhoda (1968). He was There from the Day We Moved in. Illustrated by Edward Gorey. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 87510.
- Levine, Rhoda (1977). Er war da und saß im Garten (in German). Illustrated by Edward Gorey. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 1203944.
- Levine, Rhoda (1977). Il etait la, il attendait (in French). Illustrated by Edward Gorey. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 301610899.
- Levine, Rhoda (2012). He was There from the Day We Moved in. Illustrated by Edward Gorey. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-515-6.
- Levine, Rhoda (1969). The Herbert Situation. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-354-1. OCLC 2156186.