Arrest warrant issued for former opera director
Daniel Lipton accused of ‘serious sexual assault’ by woman from Hamilton 30 years ago
A sexual assault arrest warrant has been issued for a former artistic director of Opera Hamilton and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
The warrant is for Daniel Lipton, once a high profile member of the Hamilton music scene. The warrant was issued nearly a year ago — in February 2017, while the maestro was artistic director at Opera Tampa in Florida — yet police have not arrested Lipton and do not currently know where he lives.
The warrant was issued after a year-long investigation by the Hamilton police sexual assault unit into an allegation of a single, serious sexual assault from 30 years ago.
Lipton has not returned to Canada in the past year and so the warrant has not been executed. In order for Lipton to be arrested he would have to return to Canada or the Canadian Department of Justice would have to begin the process of extraditing him from whatever country he is in, through Interpol, providing that country has an extradition agreement with Canada.
The complainant is a woman who is now in her 70s and living in Toronto with her spouse. At the time of the alleged sexual assault, between January 1988 and January 1990, she lived in Hamilton and moved in the same social circles as Lipton, according to lawyer Sandra Antoniani who is acting on the woman’s behalf. The woman’s identity is protected by an automatic publication ban.
Lipton was the HPO’s artistic adviser in the 1999-2000 season. Before that he was with Opera Hamilton, making his conducting debut in September 1986 and eventually becoming its artistic director. Opera Hamilton no longer exists.
Lipton joined Opera Tampa in 2012 and did guest conducting stints in Belgium and Beijing, and gave master classes in Italy.
Lipton, now 76, left Opera Tampa suddenly six months ago with a year still remaining in his contract. On the website of an artist management company that includes Lipton on its roster, it says he left Opera Tampa “in pursuit of new avenues of artistic endeavours.”
Opera Tampa says it did not know about the Hamilton allegation or arrest warrant until being told by media on Wednesday.
“Daniel Lipton was the artistic director of Opera Tampa for five years and our July 2017 separation from him was by mutual agreement,” says a statement from Judith Lisi, general director of Opera Tampa.
“We certainly have no prior knowledge of the warrant that has been issued or of the disturbing allegations that have come out of Ontario.”
Those allegations have been swirling around Lipton since at least 2016 when the complainant first met with Hamilton police detectives.
Det. Sgt. Dave Dunbar of the Sexual Assault Unit says the woman came forward around the time Lipton made a special return visit to Hamilton in January 2016 to guest conduct the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
“I was very happy in Hamilton,” Lipton told The Spectator in an interview leading up to the concert.
That was months before Hollywood imploded with accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment, giving birth to the #MeToo movement that has empowered survivors to share their stories.
Coincidentally, at the same time the Spec learned of Lipton’s arrest warrant on Wednesday, Charles Dutoit, the former conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, was stepping down from his current position with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Three opera singers and a classical musician have accused him of sexual assault.
Hamilton criminal lawyer Dean Paquette says Lipton is his client, but he says he was unaware an arrest warrant was issued.
“I have had discussions with Hamilton police about Daniel Lipton,” he confirms, noting that those discussions with a sexual assault detective were many months ago and a warrant had not been issued. Paquette says neither he nor his client was given specific details of the allegations or the date of the alleged sexual assault.
Paquette says the last time he spoke with his client, months ago, Lipton was living in the United States. Dunbar says the last known address Hamilton police have for him was his home in Tampa.
Lipton was born in France and raised in New York. In January 2016, The Spectator reached him at his home in Potsdam, Germany. His Facebook page says he currently lives in Potsdam.
Canada has extradition treaties with the U.S. and Germany.
In that 2016 interview with the Spec, Lipton said he never really wanted to leave Hamilton.
“I was very happy in Hamilton,” he said. “I bought my first home in Hamilton. I’ve always considered Hamilton home.”
Anyone with information regarding this matter can contact Det. Dave Dunbar at 905-546-4962 or Det. Candace Culp at 905-546-4846.