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LA Opera and IFPI to investigate sexual harassment claims made against Plácido Domingo
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 14 August 2019
Both the LA Opera and globally-focused record industry trade group IFPI have confirmed they will formally investigate allegations of sexual harassment that have been made against Plácido Domingo. The opera star is General Director of the LA Opera and Honorary Chairman of IFPI.
According to the Associated Press, eight singers and a dancer have said that they were sexually harassed by Domingo, with the alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s. Only one of the accusers, mezzo-soprano Patricia Wulf, has so far been named.
One of the women who spoke to the AP said: “A business lunch is not strange. Somebody trying to hold your hand during a business lunch is strange, or putting their hand on your knee is a little strange. He was always touching you in some way, and always kissing you”.
For his part, Domingo has denied the allegations being made against him. He said in a statement: “The allegations from these unnamed individuals dating back as many as thirty years are deeply troubling and, as presented, inaccurate. Still, 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 added: “I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual. People who know me or who have worked with me know that I am not someone who would intentionally harm, offend, or embarrass anyone”.
“However”, he concluded, “I recognise that the rules and standards by which we are – and should be – measured against today are very different than they were in the past. I am blessed and privileged to have had a more than 50-year career in opera and will hold myself to the highest standards”.
It remains to be seen what investigations by the likes of the LA Opera and the IFPI conclude. In the meantime two concerts at which Domingo was due to perform in the US have already been cancelled in the wake of the allegations. Although the Salzburg Festival in Austria says the singer will still appear at its event later this month.
