1.   Dennis had recently begun a successful career conducting opera in Europe.

2.   And when Salonen also withdrew from conducting this opera, his place at the helm of the Orchestre de Paris was taken by Enrique Mazzola.

3.   As part of its epic Vienna State Opera series, Koch Schwann has published the only extant recordings of Strauss conducting opera.

4.   But before I die, I do want to conduct more operas.

5.   Except for a prior commitment in San Francisco next year, he will not conduct opera elsewhere in the United States, the Met said.

6.   He also conducted opera at houses in Frankfurt, Barcelona, Budapest, London and South America.

7.   He also conducted operas in the United States and abroad, including productions at the Washington Opera and at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy.

8.   He can even share memories of hearing Richard Strauss conduct opera in Vienna.

9.   Levine had conducted an opera in New York Saturday night and an all-Schoenberg concert Sunday evening before flying to Boston in a private plane Monday morning.

10.   Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducted both operas, combining his big musical heart and his finicky attentions to period practice.