The allegations shook the opera world — where Domingo remains, at 78, an enormous force. The Philadelphia Orchestra withdrew its invitation for Domingo to sing at its opening night gala next month, and the San Francisco Opera canceled a concert with him in October. The Metropolitan Opera, where Domingo is scheduled to star in Verdi’s “Macbeth” next month opposite soprano Anna Netrebko, said it would await the results of the Los Angeles Opera’s investigation “before making any final decisions about Mr. Domingo’s ultimate future at the Met.”
The AP reported the allegations of multiple women who said that Domingo had pressured them into sexual relationships in a series of encounters beginning in the late 1980s — including seven women who said that they felt their careers had been harmed after they rebuffed him. Domingo said in a statement that he believed “all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual.”
Domingo, who has been married for more than 50 years, said in the statement that “the allegations from these unnamed individuals dating back as many as 30 years are deeply troubling, and as presented, inaccurate,” but added that “it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable — no matter how long ago and despite my best intentions.”
He said that “the rules and standards by which we are — and should be — measured against today are very different than they were in the past” and pledged to hold himself “to the highest standards.”
Domingo occupies a unique position in the opera world. After shooting to fame as a star tenor — then reaching a far broader global audience as one of the Three Tenors, alongside Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras — he also became a conductor; founded the prestigious young artist competition Operalia; and began adding managerial positions, becoming the general director of Washington National Opera and then the Los Angeles Opera, a position he still holds. He also continues to have a prolific singing career in baritone roles.
These activities have made him one of the most influential figures in opera.
The Los Angeles Opera said in a statement that it would engage an outside counsel to investigate what it called “the concerning allegations” against Domingo.
“Plácido Domingo has been a dynamic creative force in the life of L.A. Opera and the artistic culture of Los Angeles for more than three decades,” the opera company said in a statement. “Nevertheless, we are committed to doing everything we can to foster a professional and collaborative environment where all our employees and artists feel equally comfortable, valued and respected.”
The AP spoke with eight singers and one dancer — all but one of whom were quoted anonymously — who said that Domingo had used his power to pursue them sexually. They described him as calling them repeatedly and making dates, often under the guise of offering professional advice. One accuser told the news agency that Domingo had stuck his hand down her skirt, and three others said that he had forced wet kisses on their lips, in a dressing room, a hotel room and at a lunch meeting.
One singer told the news agency that Domingo had repeatedly propositioned her at the Los Angeles Opera in 1998, the year the company announced that he would become its artistic director, eventually taking her to his apartment for what she described as “heavy petting” and “groping.”
“I was totally intimidated and felt like saying no to him would be saying no to God,” she was quoted as saying. “How do you say no to God?”
She told the news agency she eventually told him to stop calling her, adding that she was never hired again in Los Angeles after Domingo got power over casting.
Patricia Wulf, the only accuser named in the AP article, told The New York Times in a telephone interview that her experiences with Domingo also dated to 1998, when she appeared with Washington National Opera, where he was then general director, in “The Magic Flute.”
When Wulf left the stage during one rehearsal, she said, Domingo was waiting for her in the wings. He came up to her, she recalled, and said, “Patricia, do you have to go home tonight?”
Wulf said she laughed, thinking it was a joke, but later the situation repeated itself. “I remember thinking, ‘That is not acceptable,’” she said.
Domingo did not inappropriately touch her, Wulf said, but he made her so uncomfortable that she hid in her dressing room and asked a colleague to walk her to her car so she did not have to risk encountering him. She said she did not report Domingo’s behavior because she felt that doing so would damage her career.
She said she kept saying no to Domingo until he stopped, about 2 1/2 years later.
In his statement, which was initially made to The AP and later sent to The Times, Domingo said, “People who know me or who have worked with me know that I am not someone who would intentionally harm, offend, or embarrass anyone.”
At the Salzburg Festival in Austria, where Domingo is scheduled to sing in concert performances of Verdi’s “Luisa Miller” this month, Helga Rabl-Stadler, the festival’s president, said that he would perform as planned.
“I have known Plácido Domingo for more than 25 years,” Rabl-Stadler said in a statement. “In addition to his artistic competence, I was impressed from the very beginning by his appreciative treatment of all festival employees. He knows every name, from the concierge to the secretary; he never fails to thank anyone performing even the smallest service for him. Had the accusations against him been voiced inside the Festspielhaus in Salzburg, I am sure I would have heard of it.”
Joseph Volpe, the general manager of the Met from 1990 to 2006, also said that he had never heard any allegations against Domingo. “I’ve known Plácido since he made his debut at the Met in 1968, and there was never, ever a complaint made against him about sexual harassment,” Volpe said in a telephone interview. “He’s such a gentleman, and so caring about people.”
The Met, which fired its former music director, James Levine, in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct — and which just last week quietly settled a rancorous lawsuit he had filed against the company — said in a statement that it takes “accusations of sexual harassment and abuse of power with extreme seriousness.” The statement noted that Domingo, as a guest artist, had never been in a position to influence casting decisions there.
Washington National Opera merged with the Kennedy Center in 2011, the year Domingo departed. The company’s current general director, Timothy O’Leary, and Deborah F. Rutter, the president of the Kennedy Center, said in a joint statement that the allegations against Domingo had all predated the center’s takeover of the company.
“The Kennedy Center did not receive any documented complaints about Mr. Domingo’s behavior prior to W.N.O.’s affiliation with the Kennedy Center, and we have not received any since then,” the statement said.
A spokesman for the Royal Opera House in London did not respond to questions about whether Domingo would perform there next year, as scheduled. The spokesman said in a statement that the company “has not been made aware of any accusations pertaining to Plácido Domingo’s time as a visiting artist or conductor. However, we have a zero-tolerance policy toward harassment of any kind.”
The San Francisco Opera said in a statement that it “places a great priority on creating a safe and secure environment where everyone can focus on their work and art, and in which colleagues are treated with respect, dignity and collegiality.”
The company said that ticket holders would be able to exchange their tickets to the canceled Domingo concert for other performances this season, or request refunds.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.