Famed conductor faces 6 new sex claims, including 1 rape
SAN FRANCISCO » Six more women have stepped forward to accuse prominent conductor Charles Dutoit of sexually assaulting them in the United States, France and Canada, including a musician who says the maestro raped her in 1988.
The women say they were compelled to speak out after The Associated Press published a story Dec. 21 detailing accusations from three singers and a musician who said Dutoit forcibly restrained them, groped them and kissed them without permission.
The 81-year-old Grammywinning conductor emphatically denied the accusations, but eight major orchestras immediately distanced themselves from himand two launched their own investigations.
The new accusers said they were angered by Dutoit’s initial denial and wanted to show the scope of his sexual misconduct during his globe-trotting career. They said the Swissborn conductor attacked them in Paris, Montreal and the United States over a four- decade period, starting in the late 1970s.
Dutoit had been principal conductor and artistic director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Hours after the AP sent Dutoit and the Royal Philharmonic detailed summaries of the new allegations, the orchestra announced Wednesday that he was leaving those posts.
Dutoit issued a statement saying he was “appalled and sickened” to be accused “of the heinous crime of rape.”
“I am shaken to the core by this bewildering and baseless charge. To this, I submit my categorical and complete denial,” he said.
Dutoit also has held such notable positions as music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The woman who accused the conductor of raping her said the assault occurred when she was working with Dutoit at an orchestra on the East Coast of the U. S. The AP does not publish the names of people who say they are victims of sexual assault without their permission so, to protect her identity, the AP also is not disclosing the instrument she plays, her orchestra or the city where she said she was attacked.
Three of her colleagues in the same orchestra told the AP that the woman confided in them after the encounter.
One of the new accusers told the AP that the Boston Symphony was aware of the famed conductor’s behavior and looked the other way. The symphony said it had received no prior complaints but declined to say whether management had warned women to not be alone with Dutoit, a regular guest conductor since 1981.
The musician accusing Dutoit of rape was then 28 and auditioning for an orchestra in early 1988 while he was guest- conducting. She said they were staying at the same hotel and rode the elevator together up to their shared floor one night.
“As soon as I got to my room, the phone rang. It was Maestro Dutoit,” she said.
She had heard rumors about inappropriate behavior but said she thought nothing of it when Dutoit told her his luggage was broken and asked if she had a specific tool sometimes used to fix musical instruments. He invited her to come in when she brought it to his room, she said, first offering her a drink, which she declined. Within minutes, he forced himself on her, she said.