Dutoit could be stripped of Order of Montreal
Mayor Valérie Plante is asking the body responsible for administering the Order of Montreal to look into whether Charles Dutoit, former artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), should be stripped of the honour.
Dutoit stepped down last month as artistic director and principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, based in London, after several women came forward in recent months alleging they were victims of sexual misconduct by him.
On Wednesday, Plante questioned whether a person facing such serious allegations should continue to hold the honorific title.
Dutoit was named a Great Montrealer in 1982 and was given the title of commander of the Order of Montreal in 2016.
Plante raised the issue after a meeting of the executive committee where she named Émilie Nicolas, a member of the Broadbent Institute and president of Québec Inclusif, an organization promoting diversity and intercultural dialogue, to the consultative council responsible for the Order of Montreal for three years.
“What should we do when we name Great Montrealers and we later realize there are serious allegations or even accusations against those people?” Plante said to reporters at city hall.
“SoitwasinthatsensethatIhave given the committee the mandate to find solutions,” she said.
Several musicians have told Montreal media outlets that Dutoit insulted, humiliated and verbally lashed out at them when he was artistic director of the OSM from 1977 to 2002.
On Sunday, Lucien Bouchard, a former premier of Quebec and chair of the orchestra’s board of directors, expressed his sympathy to those who have spoken up about alleged psychological harassment and intimidation by Dutoit.
Bouchard noted that the orchestra launched its own independent investigation into sexual harassment in December, the day after it received a complaint.
The OSM won world renown during Dutoit’s tenure, when it recorded more than 80 albums on the Decca label from 1980 to 2002. Last month, CBC said it would not stop playing the recordings but that it has stopped crediting Dutoit as conductor.
Dutoit has denied all wrongdoing, and the allegations have not been proven in court.