Harassment reports against Domingo credible, LA Opera finds

AN INVESTIGATION commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera into sexual harassment allegations against Plácido Domingo has found that the legendary tenor engaged in “inappropriate conduct” with multiple women over the three decades he held senior positions at the company, which he helped found and later led.

Investigators say 10 women accused the star of engaging in inappropriate conduct between 1986 and 2019. Investigators deemed the allegations credible, according to a summary released Tuesday by LA Opera.

The findings did not detail any of the allegations, but said the “level of discomfort reported by the women varied, ranging from some women stating they were not uncomfortable to others who described significant trauma.”

The six-month investigation, conducted by outside lawyers, also found “no evidence that LA Opera ever ignored, failed to address, or covered up sexual harassment complaints,” the summary said.

The accusations echo those of a separate independent investigation released two weeks ago by the American Guild of Musical Artists, the US union that represents opera performers.

Both investigations were launched after the publication of stories last year in which multiple women accused Domingo of sexual harassment and abusing his power. Dozens of people stated that his behaviour was an open secret in the opera world, where men in positions of authority have long behaved with impunity.

The LA Opera investigation, conducted by the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, said Domingo was one of 44 people interviewed and that the singer had “denied all allegations of unwanted contact and maintained that all his interactions were consensual.”

The report added that investigators “often found him to be sincere in his denials but found some of them to be less credible or lacking in awareness.”

It also said that investigators “found no evidence that Mr. Domingo ever engaged in a quid pro quo or retaliated against any woman by not casting or otherwise hiring her at LA Opera.”

Nancy Seltzer, a spokeswoman for Domingo, said he had no immediate comment on the findings.