Breaking: Placido Domingo is out of the Met

The singer ‘has agreed to withdraw’ from the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Verdi’s Macbeth amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the opera house announced last night.

Domingo, 78, said he would never sing at the Met again. The Met’s general manager Peter Gelb said: ‘We are grateful to him for recognizing that he needed to step down.’

Macbeth is due to open tonight. Zelko Lucic will sing the title role.

The announcement came 24 hours after the Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, let it be known that he was standing by Domingo.

Domingo said: ‘I made my debut at the Metropolitan Opera at the age of 27 and have sung at this magnificent theater for 51 consecutive, glorious years,” the star said. “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.

‘As a result, I have asked to withdraw, and I thank the leadership of the Met for graciously granting my request. I am happy that, at the age of 78, I was able to sing the wonderful title role in the dress rehearsal of ‘Macbeth,’ which I consider my last performance on the Met stage.’

Only 24 hours ago Gelb was insisting there was no reason Domingo should go, but internal pressure appears to have overtaken them.

Domingo has sung 706 times at the Met and conducted 169 nights.

He is now effectively persona non grata on US stages, while continuing to be welcomed in Europe.

UPDATE: Domingo: The End