Domingo’s complicated legacy
Opera world takes stock as star tenor accepts ‘full responsibility’ for conduct
A union that represents much of the opera world issued a report Tuesday concluding that superstar tenor Plácido Domingo “engaged in inappropriate activity, ranging from flirtation to sexual advances, in and outside of the workplace.” The American Guild of Musical Artists investigation confirms some of the allegations more than 20 women have made, that Domingo, 79, used his power as a performer, impresario and industry titan to harass, intimidate and coerce women into sexual situations.
Domingo, whose five-decade career included leadership of the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, issued his first significant apology. In a statement, he said: “I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I have grown from this experience. I understand now that some women may have feared expressing themselves honestly because of a concern that their careers would be adversely affected if they did so. While that was never my intention, no one should ever be made to feel that way.”
The development felt incremental, but substantial. It came a day after a jury convicted another top entertainment executive, Harvey Weinstein, of criminal sexual assault and rape, two of five charges brought before a court in New York.
Domingo had disputed accusations made against him since an August 2019 Associated Press report documenting what many considered an “open secret” — that he abused his power and created a hostile work environment for women. Domingo wielded power within the opera comparable Weinstein’s in Hollywood. But it was a different kind of power, and the opera world has been slow to acknowledge the damage he caused.
As the head of two major opera companies, and a star singer who could fill houses, Domingo was a power broker. Much of the audience in the opera house on a Domingo night came not because the company was performing Verdi or Wagner, but because Domingo was singing Otello or Siegmund. He also led an opera competition, Operalia, and having Domingo’s support was an asset for young singers struggling to build a career.
The report comes from a union that represents artists who made Domingo’s career possible, including other singers, choristers, dancers and stage personnel. But many of them were also uniquely vulnerable within the hierarchical star system that governs opera. Domingo was the star. They were the support.
Domingo’s long history as a performer known for his diligence and risk-taking has made it difficult for some to reckon with what women have said was predatory behaviour. He took chances and learned new parts — by some counts more than 150 roles.
So Domingo wasn’t just loved by audiences, he was admired by colleagues, including other singers, composers, conductors and stage directors. His contribution to the art form can’t be edited out of the history of 20th-century opera, but it must be seen in the larger perspective of his behaviour behind and off the stage.