David Stivender; Metropolitan Opera Chorus Master

David Stivender, 56, chorus master of the Metropolitan Opera since 1973. He had been a member of the Met’s conducting staff since 1978. His responsibilities included preparing the chorus seasons that usually include two dozen operas. He also selected singers from the approximately 300 who auditioned each year. He wrote “Mascagni,” a 1988 book based on the composer’s dictated memoirs and other writings, presented in autobiographical form. In Pittsburgh on Friday of congestive heart failure.