Famous conductor accused by four of sexual misconduct

SAN FRANCISCO — Three opera singers and a classical musician say that worldrenowned conductor Charles Dutoit sexually assaulted them — physically restraining them, forcing his body against theirs, sometimes thrusting his tongue into their mouths, and in one case, sticking one of their hands down his pants.

In separate interviews with The Associated Press, the accusers provided detailed accounts of incidents they say occurred between 1985 and 2010 in a moving car, the twotime Grammy winner’s hotel suite, his dressing room, an elevator and the darkness of backstage.

The women accuse the 81year-old artistic director and principal conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of sexual misconduct on the sidelines of rehearsals and performances in five cities — Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Saratoga Springs, New York.

“He threw me against the wall, shoved my hand down his pants and shoved his tongue down my throat,” retired mezzo-soprano Paula Rasmussen recounted of an incident she said occurred in his dressing room at the LA Opera in September 1991.

Dutoit, who holds the titles of conductor laureate of the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor emeritus of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, did not respond to multiple attempts to reach him through the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and his office in Montreal. The Royal Philharmonic said Dutoit was currently on vacation, but that it had forwarded the AP’s emailed requests for comment directly to him. The AP also reached out to Dutoit’s office with several phone calls and emails.

In a long, distinguished career, he also has led highly regarded orchestras in Paris and Montreal, and traveled the globe as a guest conductor.

Citing the “extremely troubling” allegations contained in the AP story, the Boston Symphony Orchestra said later Thursday that Dutoit would “no longer appear as a guest conductor.”

All four women said the Swiss-born conductor either lured them to a private place to discuss or practice music, or simply seized a moment alone to make his move. The women all said they resisted him and escaped.

The AP spoke with colleagues and friends of each accuser who confirmed the women shared details of their experiences at the time.

The women said they never filed formal complaints because they were young and Dutoit was the maestro, but felt inspired to come forward now by all the women speaking out about sexual misconduct by powerful men in other industries and by the Metropolitan Opera suspending conductor James Levine earlier this month after misconduct accusations surfaced.