Embattled opera star Domingo quits amid myriad sex scandals
LEGENDARY opera si nger Placido Domingo, who is facing myriad sex ua l harassment accusat ions, a nnounced on Wednesday t hat he was resig ning as genera l director of t he Los Angeles Opera, ef fect ively putt ing a n end to his ca reer in t he US.
“Recent accusations t hat have been made against me in the press have created an atmosphere in which my abilit y to ser ve this company that I so love has been compromised,” Domingo, 78, wrote in a statement obtained by AFP.
“While I will continue to work to clear my name, I have decided that it is in the best interests of LA Opera for me to resign as its general director and withdraw from my future scheduled performances at this time.
“I do so wit h a heav y hea r t a nd at t he sa me t ime wish to convey to t he company’s dedicated board a nd hardwork ing sta f f my deepest wishes t hat t he L A Opera cont inue to g row a nd excel.”
Profound contributions
The L A Opera’s execut ive committee issued a statement t hank ing t he si nger, who has been at t he helm of t he i nst it ut ion since 2003, a nd credit ing him for cult ura l cont r ibut ions to t he cit y t hat a re “unprecedented a nd profound”.
“He is not only an outstandingly talented artist, but also the driving force behind the creation, development and growth of LA Opera,” the statement said.
“Under his leadership, L A Opera became k nown for it s spi r it of col laborat ive creat iv it y a nd its abi l it y to att ract superb per formers f rom across t he g lobe – including Placido hi mself, who delivered more t han 300 per for mances in 31 different roles a nd conducted more t han 100 t imes i n Sout hern Ca l i for nia over t he course of t he past five decades.”
His resignation comes a week after Domingo announced that he was withdrawing from all performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
Concert in Europe
The 11th-hour decision came just one night before the Spaniard, dubbed the “King of Opera,” was scheduled to perform the title role in the Met’s sold-out first production of Macbeth.
In Aug ust, eig ht si ngers a nd a dancer told t he Associated Press about incidents going back to t he 1980s, including one in which a woman said Domingo put his hand dow n her sk i r t while t hree ot hers sa id he forcibly k issed t hem.
A subsequent repor t by t he US news agency cited 11 more women, including one who said he reached dow n her robe to g rab her bare breast.
The repor ts painted a port ra it of a man who acted wit h i mpunit y, shielded by his power as one of opera’s foremost sta rs, as a whisper net work formed warning women of his a l leged reputat ion.
Severa l US opera houses, including t he Phi ladelphia Orchest ra, t he Sa n Fra ncisco Opera a nd t he Dallas Opera, have ca ncel led concer ts feat uri ng Domingo in recent months because of t he sex ua l harassment a l legat ions.
Domingo, who has been a conductor a nd di rector of some of t he world’s most prest ig ious opera houses, a nd debuted at t he Met at age 27, has ca l led t he a l legat ions aga inst him “deeply t roubling a nd, as presented i naccurate”.
He has a rg ued t hat “a l l my i nteract ions and relat ionships were a lways welcomed a nd consensua l”.
None of Domingo’s upcoming per formances i n Europe have been ca ncel led a nd he is scheduled to perform i n a number of concer ts t his fa l l, i ncluding in Swit zerla nd, Russia a nd Pola nd.
In Mex ico, Domingo is due to receive t he Batuta pr i ze for classica l music on Sat urday.