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Opera legend Plácido Domingo leaves Met Opera over sexual harassment claims

Placido Domingo during the rehearsal of the opening gala of the Gerard Of Sagredo Youth Forum and Sports Center in Szeged, Hungary, Aug. 27, 2019, a day prior to the event. EPA/Tibor Rosta/Hungary Out

After a nearly 51-year partnership, famous singer Plácido Domingo and The Metropolitan Opera (or The Met) have officially parted ways.

The legendary New York City-based opera company revealed the news on Tuesday, as reported by the Associated Press.

“The Met and Domingo are in agreement that he needed to step down,” said the Met, in an official statement.

“[Domingo] agreed to withdraw from all future performances at the Met, effective immediately,” it added.

Though he’s denied the allegations, Domingo, 78, reportedly agreed to withdraw from all of his upcoming performances with the establishment after being accused of sexual harassment by several women.

In this Aug. 28, 2019 file photo, opera star Placido Domingo salutes spectators at the end of a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The Metropolitan Opera confirms, Tuesday, Sept. 24, that Domingo has agreed to withdraw from all future performances at the Met, effective immediately. Laszlo Balogh / AP Photo

Before pulling out, Domingo was set to perform three nights as the lead in the Met’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth, starting on Wednesday evening. The shows would have been his first U.S. performances since the allegations initially surfaced.

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Since August — after a multitude of alleged victims came forward claiming Domingo had sexually harassed them — a number of additional women have come forward with further allegations against the singer.

Angela Turner Wilson was one of those women. Now 48, the singer claimed that at the age of 28, she was groped by Domingo in the privacy of a makeup room at the Met.

Wilson claimed that the supposed criminal stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and then reached down into her robe and grabbed her bare breast beneath the strap of her bra.

In this Aug. 26, 2014, file photo, Placido Domingo speaks at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019, the LA Opera said it will hire outside counsel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by the opera legend. Domingo has denied the accusations, but noted: “Still, it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable.” AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File

“It hurt,” she told the Associated Press.

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“It was not gentle. He groped me hard.”

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On the Met’s decision to let go of Domingo, Wilson admitted she was “relieved,” adding that she still had concerns about a statement issued by general manager Peter Gelb, who claimed that the Met could not act on allegations without corroborated evidence.

She concluded: “[That’s] a major concern to me and many others who wish to see the current culture of sexual harassment and retaliation removed from our industry. It is time.”
FILE – In this Aug. 1, 2014, file photo, pedestrians make their way in front of the Metropolitan Opera house at New York’s Lincoln Center. The Metropolitan Opera will start regular Sunday afternoon performances for the first time in its century-plus history during the 2019-20 season. (AP Poto/John Minchillo, File).

Another of Domingo’s accusers, Patricia Wulf, also called the withdrawal a relief.

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“The Met finally stepped up and did the right thing,” she said, adding, “I feel like we accomplished something.”

Wulf accused Domingo of repeatedly harassing her during performances at Washington Opera in the late 1990s, when he was general director of the company.

READ MORE: Plácido Domingo, opera singer, accused of sexual harassment by 8 singers and a dancer

Domingo himself issued a statement following the recent news, highlighting his career at the Met moreso than addressing the allegations which he denies.

He joined the company at the age of 27 in Sept. 1968 and since then achieved the record for the most opera performances ever.

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The statement read: “While I strongly dispute recent allegations made about me, and I am concerned about a climate in which people are condemned without due process, upon reflection, I believe that my appearance in this production of Macbeth would distract from the hard work of my colleagues both on stage and behind the scenes.”

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“As a result,” continued Domibgo, “I have asked to withdraw, and I thank the leadership of the Met for graciously granting my request.”

He concluded that he would not be returning to the company and that he considers the last dress rehearsal for Macbeth his “last performance on the Met stage.”

— With files from the Associated Press

adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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