Placido Domingo is ‘truly sorry’ as US union reaches verdict

Placido Domingo is ‘truly sorry’ as US union reaches verdict

main

norman lebrecht

February 25, 2020

The singer has issued an apology following an AP report that lawyers for AGMA – the US opera performers’ union – are about to issue a report declaring him guilty of multiple sexual abuses of his authority.

Domingo, 79, faced accusations from anonymous accusers in an AP investigation last year.

Domingo responded today:

‘I have taken time over the last several months to reflect on the allegations that various colleagues of mine have made against me. I respect that these women finally felt comfortable enough to speak out, and I want them to know that I am truly sorry for the hurt that I caused them. I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I have grown from this experience.’

He added:

‘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.

‘I am committed to affecting positive change in the opera industry so that no one else has to have that same experience. It is my fervent wish that the result will be a safer place to work for all in the opera industry, and I hope that my example moving forward will encourage others to follow.’

Publication of the AGMA report is understood to be imminent. The LA Opera, which Domingo led as artistic and general director from 2000 until his resignation last year, has yet to issue its findings.

Domingo has been dropped by opera houses in the US. He remains an active performer in Europe and Asia.

 

Comments

  • Gustavo says:

    Harvey Domingo

  • Alexander says:

    no one opera house in Europe was harmed during this modern American saga 😉

  • Justice delayed says:

    What has his army to say about the multiple new accusers not included in the original AP report? Investigators found all of them credible. And his response? It sounds like he’s finally owning his sh*t, even if his throngs of supporters won’t.

  • Has=been says:

    I hope that AGMA, in their statement, acknowledges the hundred of pension benefits and opera house benefits that Domingo gave his services to for free. Not to mention his efforts endorsing and encouraging young artists.

    • Alexander says:

      his Operalia is great for sure, I mean the “singing” quality of the most of prize-runners

      • BillOxford says:

        Not all the winners have been women, and I’m sure you’re not suggesting that Mr Domingo is, in the modern vernacular, ‘pansexual’!

    • Sam says:

      Yet again… the artist offered immunity by virtue of his other artistic merits. When will this stop? Actions off stage matter! Who you sexually harass matters! The brutal dictators you cosy up to… it matters! (Dudamel). People don’t forget! Being good at your job, whether music or plumbing, does not offer mitigation! It does not absolve you from consequence.

      • Alvaro says:

        I ponder you should basically stop listening to classical music: All the composers cozied up to monarchic/despotic dictators or used up women to levels even todays Rappers would envy.

        The double standards in this forum are simply outstanding.

        • Sam says:

          This is a non-argument. Social evolution means that behavior that was acceptable centuries ago is no longer acceptable. Could I also remind you that many Classical composers were already effecting enormous social change through creative dissent. Mozart, for starters, challenging the doctrine of prima nocta in Figaro, and the abuse of sexually-expressed temporal power in Don Giovanni. “Don Giovanni, a cenar teco m’invitasti. E son venuto!” Divine justice at the door, in 1787, two years before the French Revolution…

          • sycorax says:

            Let’s be historical precise: The ius primae noctae wasn’t somewhere really practized as a kind of “law”. Some aristocrats may have done something like that towards the people who were dependent on them, but it was never a “rule” somewhere.
            However, it’s not the real point at “Le Nozze”. The point is the destroying of aristocratic privileges – and that made the play and later the opera revolutionary.

        • sycorax says:

          Don’t you think that there is a bit of a difference between a mere singer and a composer? I mean I could hardly replace Wagner though he certainly was a rather unpleasant person. But I can easily replace a singer.

    • Monsoon says:

      How much do you have to donate per incident of sexual harassment to be absolved of your wrong doing?

      • Anon says:

        If you’re ‘great’ then nothing at all. You’re absolved by your greatness.

      • Jacko says:

        Sorry, the amount per incident is subject to a non-disclosure agreement.

      • Christopher Clift says:

        This smacks of off-setting carbon emissions by paying money, but still flying round the world.

      • Bash says:

        In the case of Domingo a $500,000 bribe to the Union was expected to do the trick, keep it quiet and shove it all under the rug. Since somebody blew the whistle on the deal it has been shelved. Full details in The NY Times

    • Jason says:

      Why? Does that make his actions OK? No!

  • Hillary says:

    The Bill Clinton of Opera…

    Talk about ‘white privilege’.

    Glad the Met had the decency to toss him out!

    • Gwendolyn says:

      Still bringing him up? More distraction and deflection? I did not see that coming…

      A more accurate analogy would be with the current Occupant. You know, the one who bragged, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” How many are we up to with the Conman so far? 20-something women?

      So if you bring up ‘white privilege’ and a president from the ’90’s, I’m going to bring up ‘orange privilege’ and the idiot in there now.

      • Bill says:

        Gwendolyn sounds like a Levine supporter.

        GROSS!

        • Gwendolyn says:

          Huh? No, not a Levine supporter. “Hilary” brought up Clinton, so I reminded “her” that we currently have an admitted pussy grabber as president.

          • M Sanger says:

            Gwen,

            NOBODY wants Hillary sexually!

            Bill sure doesn’t.

            OK, OK He was really, really HIGH one night and they ended up with Chelsea but that was the only time…

            LOL!!!!!!!!

          • Haley says:

            M Sanger/Bill/Hillary (because we know you’re the same person)–

            This thread and this blog are about classical music. Your writing style and the content of your posts are distinctively bad.

            I believe you’re the same person who–on another unrelated thread–insisted that Beau Biden testify at tRump’s impeachment trial, even after you were informed that he was deceased. Is that because you don’t know that deceased means dead?

            By the way, are you aware that neither of the Clintons is running for president? It’s very odd that you look for any opportunity to bring them up. Why do they hold such power over you? Try thinking about something or someone else once in awhile.

            If, once again, your response has completely irrelevant, immature remarks, 14 exclamation points, “LOL,” “SAD,” “GROSS,” or “PS,” we know it’s you, no matter what you call yourself.

          • Pandora says:

            Your president is Donald J Trump Haley. Just accept reality and get over your uneducated, triggered self.

            Trump is going to win again against the majority of WEALTHY, WHITE, MALE Democrats you’ve ended up with after directing vituperative attacks against each of those Lib labels.

            Who is your candidate anyway? Why don’t you ever say in YOUR aliases on this entertainment blog?? WHAT DIFFERENCE AT THIS POINT DOES IT MAKE?!?! Ha Ha

          • Stop. This isn’t a political blog. says:

            @Pandora-
            What do you have against WEALTHY WHITE MALES? Do you only like the ORANGE ones, who spend taxpayer money to play golf and enrich themselves even more?

          • Pandora says:

            Obama is orange now????

            Ok hun. He is 1/2 white though by his momma.

            It’s true the Obamas were naturally afraid to move to a black area after the election so they settled in a lovely, wealthy, white neighborhood and walled themselves off (kinda like ‘white flight’…RIGHT).

            Thanks for your political perspective as you DESPERATELY try to defend the misanthropic Democrats. The remaining WHITES need all the help they can get.

            Trump will easily trump ‘em again!

          • stormy d says:

            Obama isn’t running, either.

            You’re just too stupid for words, swinging at every punch, just like President Turd.

            LOL!!!!!!!!!!

          • Ed Savino says:

            You should have more respect for YOUR President especially since your lawyer Avanatti is going to prison.

            You should go back to stripping or perhaps become another of Domingo’s paramours. He doesn’t seem to mind if they are damaged goods.

          • Republicans for the Rule of Law says:

            Trump’s 29th Trip To Mar-a-Lago Brings Golf Tab To 334 Years Of Presidential Salary

            In the last 3 years, Trump has actually invested two-and-a-half times as numerous days on a fairway as Obama had done at the very same factor in his initial term.

            And since Trump demands dipping into programs he possesses, the price to taxpayers has actually been almost 4 times as high as it was for Obama. More than two-thirds of Trump’s golf trips include seven-figure journeys aboard Air Force One, mostly to Florida and also New Jersey, yet additionally to Los Angeles, Ireland and Scotland. Obama, on the other hand, played the majority of his golf on programs at army bases within a brief drive of the White House.

            What’s extra, Trump’s persistence on dipping into programs he possesses and also makes money from has actually placed a minimum of a couple of million taxpayer bucks right into Trump’s sales register in the kind of resort area and also dining establishment costs for the White House personnel and also Secret Service representatives that accompany him.

            Trump’s organization has actually billed the Secret Service as high as $650 a space per evening at Mar-a-Lago– greater than 3 times the regular price that government workers are meant to invest in South Florida– and also $17,000 a month for a home at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, hotel. During a very early Mar-a-Lago browse through, White House workers added a $1,006 bar tab, which taxpayers additionally paid.

            How numerous taxpayer bucks exactly are streaming right into Trump’s pocket is not understood since the White House declines to information the amount of executive branch workers remain at Trump homes and also just how much they are being billed.

          • Ed Savino says:

            The Obama’s still pulled a ‘white flight’.

          • Trump's Golf Tab says:

            Ed, you sound like you’re still a teenager, so this won’t apply to you, but people who have jobs really resent paying taxes for OSM and secret service to stay at his resorts.

            Try to understand: taxpayers are paying him to play golf. He’s charging 3 times the normal room rate for everybody who has to go with him. And he has already played golf WAY MORE THAN OBAMA, who doesn’t own any golf resorts.

            Again, concentrate on this question: what about OSM’S golf tab? What about OSM saying he wouldn’t have time for that if he were president? Answer if you can.

            OSM (Orange Skid Mark)=IMPOTUS, Forever Impeached

          • Haley says:

            Why would I tell you who my candidate is when it’s so entertaining to watch you flail around and insult random Democrats? You don’t even realize that you’re being mocked. SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          • Ed Savino says:

            Haley dear, you’re just a simple-minded girl who failed at gaslighting several other people’s perspectives.

            You can’t even commit to a candidate and are likely a single girl with no hopes for a date. Loose some weight and try acting like a lady.

            Girls like you are precisely why men remain in power.

          • Spelling says:

            It’s LOSE, not LOOSE, LOSER!

          • Educated dude says:

            Haley can’t even make a simple decision?

            How predictable.

            She needs to get a degree and some courses in personal hygiene.

          • Dwork says:

            Educated dude—Ha ha!

            HE made a choice but will never tell the likes of you, because you’re a dumbass and not worth the time it takes to argue.

          • Odette says:

            Dwork is it??

            You’ve been GASLIT (along with each of your aliases).

            Further, you people are perpetually indecisive (aka ‘uncertain’) which is the hallmark of not being educated but INDOCTRINATED and unstable.

            You need to look outside of your world long enough to appreciate another person’s cogent viewpoint.

            PS Domingo is an admitted adulterer as well as sexual and professional predator. Major opera hoses and countries (including his native Spain) continue to dump him like GARBAGE as they did Levine.

          • Ex-GOP dude says:

            “You people” is not a good look for someone who supports a racist president. You know Fred Trump was in the KKK, right?

            The next part of that sentence is grammatically incorrect to the point of conveying a different meaning than you intended. I can’t even be bothered to explain.

            And who said anyone is undecided?

            “Major opera hoses” gave me a laugh.

            By the way, I’m not a Domingo defender, so you don’t need to look for an argument there.

            But it is really funny when MAGAtards talk about “admitted adulterers as well as sexual and professional predators.”

            Sexual and professional predators? Really? You wanna try that one again?

            PS “Opera hoses” is almost as good as “nothing to loose.”

          • Odette says:

            Donald J Trump is your President no matter how distastefully ‘triggered’ or violent you people still are save your petty, vituperative attacks.

            Can’t wait to see how successful his second term will be after all he’s accomplished in the face of HATE!!!!!!!!

            What do Democrats have to offer again besides jealousy???

          • Roger Stone says:

            Educated dude is the same one who keeps writing “loose” instead of “lose” and doesn’t know what deceased means. But he sure has a lot of conspiracy theories and attacks on Democrats to share.

            Does it bother you that your president used to give money to the Clintons and many other Democrats? And what do you have against Mike Pence? He helped the Groper-In-Chief get the evangelical vote.

          • BenjaminZ says:

            Of course the Clintons SOLICITED donations from powerful people.

            He was rich enough for them to SUCK UP to just like all the rest of ‘em!

            The numerous photos are out there when Trump was BELOVED by the Clintons. Trump supporters love looking back on scores of them as PROOF of what makes the Clintons worship $$$$$$$$$

            How many decades of dollars did they return to President Trump?

          • Roger Stone says:

            You didn’t answer the questions. I’ll try again. Does it bother you that Trump used to identify as a Democrat and even considered a run for president as a Democrat?

            And what about Mike Pence? Why don’t you like him? Trump said he gets the best people.

          • Odette says:

            Seems it is YOU who could use some sensitivity training outside your frustrated, antagonistic bubble babe..

            Why don’t you go to a Trump rally where you can grow your mind and be around winners for a change?

          • Paul Manafort says:

            Wow, Odette. You go to Trump rallies to grow your mind? I thought you went to hang out with other Fascist redneck incels who think exactly like you. You and your raving lunatic buddies like getting a big crowd together to pledge blind loyalty to your master.

            Do you know what psychology is? That might be a new word for you. Here’s your free psychoanalysis:

            You’re too weak to think for yourself and see how bad Turd is. You just like the tough guy persona he portrays, because you’d rather latch onto that, thinking he’ll protect you, than to realize how small and powerless you are. Get it? No? Oh well, you can’t help that you’re mentally “challenged.”

            Thanks but no thanks for the invite. I’ll stay far away and tell you why you’re such a moron.

          • Odette says:

            So you voted for Hillary and are still raging that she was an enormous, laughable failure.

            She was entitled, unqualified and insulted the middle and lower classes who keep this beautiful country running while sucking up to wealthy white male donors via the immediately closed Clinton Foundation.

            After 8 years of Obama’s lack of measurable accomplishments it’s no surprise.

            Nobody wants socialism in the USA (who legally votes) so we’re all going to be enjoying 4 more years of YOUR President, Donald J Trump.

            PS The Electoral College has yet to be challenged by Ms. Clinton as well. It still stands legally as does Trump. It’s time for her to finally divorce Bill as she wants to be her own woman now that all is lost.

          • Mike Pence says:

            Why so obsessed with the Hillary? That ship has sailed. Still having nightmares about your mother, too? And you keep ignoring the question about why you love all Republicans except for Pence.

          • Odette says:

            YOU are infatuated with Republican monikers.

            Now your Vice President Pence…

            You dream about all Republicans or just the men?

            Have a blessed Sunday!

          • Karen Pence says:

            I’m infatuated with Republican monikers? Infatuated with their names?
            It’s so obvious that you don’t know the meaning of some of the words you use.

            And you still won’t tell us why you were so scared of Mike Pence taking over if OSM had been removed during his IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. What’s wrong with Pence? Is he worse than Nancy Pelosi?

          • Kenneth says:

            Well ‘Haley’, both Bill and Hillary are IRRELEVANT so you have at least 1 point!!!!

          • Bo says:

            Domingo’s birthplace of Spain ousted him Haley!

            Sounds like a “teachable moment”!!

            Lol..lol..lol!!!

          • John Kelly says:

            A teachable moment Bo? Oh, you mean for Cheeto Head? His birthplace of the U.S should oust him? IMPOTUS did what Domingo did, plus he’s Putin’s little bitch.

          • Frank says:

            I think lesbians are great Haley but you don’t have very good taste.

          • SNATCHED CLASSical says:

            Since ya can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em:

            Haley/
            Gwendolyn/
            Stop. This insn’t a political blog./
            stormy d/
            Republicans for the Rule of Law/
            …next impotent girl

          • Ex-GOP says:

            Next impotent girl? Do you know what impotent means? It is cute how you try to use big words now and then, mixed in with your misspellings and excessive capitalization.

            It’s been amusing to watch you make the wrong assumptions about me over and over. It’s so easy to drive you nuts! I might leave for awhile and then come back to make fun of you again. You better keep checking!!!!!!!

            And you missed a couple of comments from Michael Cohen at the bottom…

          • Odette says:

            You’re already a victim of GASLIGHTING and don’t have a cogent point so…

            What difference at this point does it make?!?!?!

            HaHaHa!!!!

          • Kitty says:

            Hope you “grabbed some pussy” in the interim. You are CLEARLY doing without (toys included)!!!

            Just pay a few shekels and do the world a favor. A quickie should do it!!

          • Michael Cohen says:

            Shekels? Be careful—you don’t want all of us to think MAGAtards are racists, do you? Your anti-Semitic tendencies are showing…

          • Karen McDougal--Google me says:

            M Sanger,

            NOBODY wants Donald sexually!

            Melania sure doesn’t.

            LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

          • Family Photos says:

            Donald’s family is BIGGER than little billy willy’s…….while Hillary sure spends a lot of time apart from her husband trying to find herself.

            She’s always ended up in the SHADOW of a man like Obama in 2008, now Trump.

          • Marla says:

            Did you see the videos of Melania slapping Donald away every time he tried to hold her hand? It’s funny, but also kinda SAD!!!!!!! She can’t stand him, because he cheated on her with Stormy right after she gave birth to Barron. Also, she’s turned off because she knows Donald is hot for Vladimir.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        Idiots beget idiots.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      I daresay Mrs. Domingo wouldn’t shout to the world that she was a feminist either!!

    • Michael C says:

      Too bad our tRumpublican-led Congress didn’t have the decency or integrity or backbone to toss our conman president out, even though they know he’s a criminal and hope he “learned his lesson” from being impeached.

    • Michael Cohen says:

      yeah, the Met got rid of Placido, but don’t you wish Republicans in Congress had the decency to toss Trump out? He admitted to much worse things and all of his friends are in jail. History will not look upon Republicans kindly for letting this happen. How delusional is it to think that someone who has no moral compass or capacity for self-reflection will “learn his lesson from being impeached”???????????????????

      • Saxon Broken says:

        Er…he wasn’t impeached since the Senate declined to convict him.

        • Ken says:

          Wanna bet?

        • SSR says:

          Wrong. He was impeached by the House, just not convicted by the Senate.

          • David says:

            Just like Bill Clinton who actually DID something wrong.

            You’re too obsessed with President Trump and have no father in your life.

            Talk to your mother and see if she can remember which random guy it could have been instead of going through life upset with fathers.
            Good luck.

          • Sheriff Arpaio says:

            So you think getting a bj and denying it is worse than

            paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep your affairs quiet,

            bilking the American taxpayer to the tune of millions of dollars,

            purposely destroying the planet, and

            selling out our democracy so Putin won’t release your pee tape?

            Why are Placido’s and Bill’s infidelity bad, but little Donnie’s infidelity is good?

  • Paul Dawson says:

    How one wishes that he had said this when the allegations first arose, rather than issuing those vehement denials. It’s a tragic story, overshadowing the magnificent achievements of his career, but he has only himself to blame.

    • Yes Addison says:

      I didn’t find his denials that vehement. There was enough there to fire up his hardcore supporters, but a close reading of his actual statements showed them to be cautiously worded, hardly the indignant response of the falsely accused. He called the allegations “deeply troubling and, as presented, inaccurate,” then pivoted to how he had “believed” everything he had ever done was welcomed; he’d never “intentionally” offend.

      The most robust proclamations of his innocence were coming from his fans. Then, he had other A-list singers acting as character witnesses with nothing of evidentiary value to offer.

      • Paul Dawson says:

        Thank you. I suspect you are right. My memory was probably faulty.

        • Karl says:

          The same fault as the memories of the women who are complaining about things that happened 20-30 years ago.

          • sycorax says:

            Maybe your memory isn’t what it was anymore, but I remember very well how in 1974 the father of a schoolfriend of mine made a pass on me. I was 14 at this time and I still remember how he smelled and how his hand felt as a he reached for me and how I jumped out of his car and ran through the forest, frigthened that he’d follow me, ashamed because I thought I’d kind of “provoked” him.
            Some things women don’t forget – and the experience of being afraid and feeling like a victim is something which sits deeply in one’s memory!

  • Monsoon says:

    For everyone who has been claiming for months that he’s been maligned, Domingo sure aint denying AGAM’s report.

  • Sanity says:

    Harvey Weinstein was sent to jail yesterday…

  • Madeleine Richardson says:

    This is nothing like Weinstein. Two of the women (still unnamed) slept with him voluntarily they claim. That is prostitution whichever way you look at it. Sorry but no respect whatsoever for this sort of thing.
    Strange this all happened in the US and not in Europe.

    • Lynne says:

      The article says they felt compelled to submit because of his position of power. That’s assault.

      • Karl says:

        No – that’s the victim mentality.

        • Nev says:

          Actually it’s not that simple. It might be victim mentality and it might be the jealousy of an untalented/less talented partner, but it might as well be harassment because that exists, too. We’ll never know where the truth lies in Domingo’s case. However, one thing is quite certain. No one should ‘make passes’, as harmless as these might seem, to people over whom they hold a position of power. Also, people feeling harassed should speak up immediately instead of ten or twenty years later.

          • Lynne says:

            There was no path to speaking up years ago. And I think the word of over thirty people (so far) speaks volumes.

          • Karl says:

            Then no one should flirt or make overtures to people who are in power. It’s a two way street. But now women who used their sexuality to get ahead are suddenly claiming to be victims. Some are probably nutters who actually believe it. memories change and distort over the years.

          • sycorax says:

            If they can they should speak up. However it’s known that victims of harassment often need quite a long time to come around and being able to speak.
            Besides Domingo used to direct his “attentions” on the young and vulnerable. For them speaking up would have meant to give up their career! And who would have believed them and who would have helped them? He was the one who got a…. in seats so what did it count that he harassed young singers?
            Even today a lot of people – as demonstrated here in the comments – see harassing women as trivial offense – “Kavaliersdelikt” as we say in German. Boys will be boys and well, she can say “no”, can’t she?

        • Lynne says:

          No, that’s assault at best.

        • Sue Sonata Form says:

          Totally agree, but when you infantilize the people they feel helpless and have no agency. They have to look towards ‘nanny’ for help.

          Keep away from sleazy males or females. How hard can that be?

          • Lynne says:

            Not easy when they control your employment. Not everyone is privileged enough to walk away. And yes, sometimes victims of sexual harassment need help. And most times they don’t get.

          • Nev says:

            Yes, victims need help. And yes, crimes must be punished. But we are supposed to be a civilized society and not a primitive tribe so this should be a matter for a court of law to decide. Otherwise there’s always a risk that the public might lynch an innocent man. Next time it might even be you.

          • sycorax says:

            You know, the almost “funny” thing in this case is: The only one who could have gotten it in front of a court would have been Mr D. He could have sued the AP as the first article came up.
            Yet he didn’t. He obviously wasn’t interested in having the case in front of a court – and what does this tell you? Perhaps that he knew it wouldn’t look good for him?
            Besides: None of the women wanted him jailed, none asked for money. I think they simply had enough from the way he presented himself as the big hero of the opera (the great discoverer of young stars at Operalia. Only most of the youngsters who came out at Operalia were already engaged and on their way).

          • sycorax says:

            Rather hard in a scene full of sleazy people!
            My nickname in the scene was “die Rolle Stacheldraht” (the roll of barbed wire) because I was rather repellent when someone made a pass on me. But I’d learned that a lot of men in the scene, especially the men who believed themselves being “stars” obviously thought young women free game. And I played the bassoon, so the “jokes” in my direction were often rather tasteless and insulting.
            I was so used on defending myself that my hubby got slapped on the first night we got to know each other. I misunderstood his touch as he tried to keep the boot lid from hitting my neck (poor sod – I’d hit him well and one saw the mark on my fingers on his check even on the next day. And my colleagues who weren’t happy about a singer flirting with their baby almost laughed their butts off).

          • Larry D says:

            Just laugh them off like you did when you were a young woman, eh? Be a clown, be a clown, all the world loves a clown? And how is your new career counseling rape victims working out? Are you running out of red noses yet?

        • Parterre Paul says:

          Just like:

          James Levine!!!

          It’s important to note that NONE of the “bold, left leaning, educated” SINGERS ever spoke up all these years.

          NOT ONE!

          It would have KILLED their careers. Instead they willfully remain to this day…COMPLICIT!

          No courage from these weak-minded artists. Only silence.

          So you can’t discount Domingo’s power.

          • sycorax says:

            Well, the problem in such cases is mostly: You can hardly speak up as long as you can’t prove what you’re saying. I worked as a journalist and I know a lot of rather scandalous things in the scene I was involved in. Some of these things would have made for fine stories, however I never could print them because I couldn’t get them “hard” enough to prove them in front of a court. And that’s the premise for publishing something. If you can’t prove it the other side can sue you for libel.

  • Anon says:

    Should be interesting to see how many Domingo abuse deniers hold up their hands and admit they called it wrong, and how many twist the facts to avoid having to change their beliefs.

  • CHNina says:

    Living in Europe, I don’t know much about AGMA, so my question: will anything come of this “verdict”? Can AGMA inflict any sort of punishment on Domingo?

    • MWnyc says:

      AGMA could ask its members not to work with him. But since it’s a U.S. union and no one in the U.S. is hiring Domingo these days, there’s no point in taking that step.

      • CHNina says:

        This was exactly my thought. But from Reuters today:

        What action can they possibly take? Ban him from the union? As MWnyc states, there is no point in this at all.

        I can’t help wondering if there was actually any point to the investigation at all.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      He’ll be too old to be bothered. His ‘punishment’ is his loss of reputation.

      I actually feel sorry for these geezers; they need to constantly have the recharge of women interested in them, falling for them and submitting to their, er, charms. I’m sure there’s something in the DSM about all that. Affirmation addiction, or something like that.

      • Karl says:

        It’s called NMH – normal male hornyness. When you’re that rich and powerful women are all over you and a normal man is going to indulge.

        • sycorax says:

          Most “normal” men can reign their hornyness and don’t harass women! try
          You know it starts to become funny: I’m the feminist here, but I find myself always defending men because I don’t think all men are bad and potential rapers. I know that there are thousand of decent men out there while you in the meantime show men as beasts.

          Besides Domingo’s problem probably was that the wrong women were all over him. He was too clever to play around with his female fans. He tried it with young colleagues and dancers and musicians – and I know that they weren’t all keen on him. Just on the contrary. A lot (like I) were warned and avoided coming close to him.

          • Karl says:

            He didn’t harass women – he didn’t have to because plenty of women wanted him. Flirting with women is not harassment.

          • sycorax says:

            Wrong for the 150th time. Two dozen of women felt harassed by him – you can’t deny it until the cows come home, it doesn’t change the fact that he abused his power.

  • anon says:

    Re “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.”

    Are we expected to believe that Domingo was truly naïve about this for so many decades? I suppose that a person who has been a superstar from a relatively young age may, **initially**, not realise just how afraid others could be of saying “no” to him/her and just how influential his/her words are (I remember, as a teenager, a few instances of being shocked at just how seriously some of my careless remarks were being taken by people who held me in some esteem, although I was never a superstar; in the case of Domingo, I imagine this sort of thing happens on a far larger scale). But for Domingo to be ignorant of this for decades is just not credible, especially after taking up management positions in places like Los Angeles Opera.

    Let us work to ensure that today’s superstars are made abundantly aware of the possibility of such unarticulated power, and of how to exercise it responsibly for the good of music, musicians, and humanity. And let us work to ensure that the power structures in the profession do not permit anybody to become too powerful in this way.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      “Afraid to say ‘no’ to him”? Are we talking about North Korea now?

      That’s right; we don’t want anybody to become too powerful in this way – just in the ‘way’ we prefer.

  • prof says:

    “I am committed to affecting positive change in the opera industry…”

    Then retire.

  • Sycorax says:

    I’m waiting on what his “defenders” will now say. Frau Dr. Rabl-Stadler was so convinced that he’s the “perfect gentleman”. What is she now to say?

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      He must have been to her. Even predators in the workplace can respect a woman – if they give him half a chance to do that.

      I worked for an Italian sexual predator in television in the 1970s. He pinched my bottom on Day 1 and I laughed in his face and he never, ever tried it again. But SOME other women absolutely fawned over him – which I always found completely amusing. As did everybody else.

  • Karl says:

    His inappropriate activity consists of ” flirtation to sexual advances, in and outside of the workplace”. This is total BS. It’s scary how anti-male our society is becoming. Gold digger regret is now rape.

    • Sycorax says:

      Oh, Karl – still on the old anti-female war path? The women he “flirted” with didn’t see his advances as harmless flirtation. They felt harassed. But that’s obviously something you refuse to get.

      • Karl says:

        Women’s feelings are not more important than facts. No one’s career was harmed by rejecting Domingo.

        • Sycorax says:

          Obviously the AGMA sees it otherwise – or do you believe he confesses now because he’s gotten how wrong he behaved?

          Besides: Women’s feelings matters – sometimes they even count as “facts” (in cases of harassment for example). I know that’s a concept not understandable for you, but it’s one which is luckily now understood by the law. It’s probably to bring Weinstein into jail and it’s brought Domingo in trouble.

          • Karl says:

            His ‘confession’ amounted to saying he was sorry that his accusers are overly sensitive nutters. Or delusional nutters.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        Grievance porn. It should be an olympic sport.

      • Mark says:

        And the society doesn’t revolve around the female “feelings”. If Domingo or anyone else committed a crime, let him be indicted and tried. If not, shut up, cupcakes, and quit your whining.

        • Saxon Broken says:

          Domingo has breached the conditions of his contract, and hence will no longer be hired in the US.

          For someone who claims to be a lawyer, you have a remarkable capacity not to understand that not all things that are wrong are matters for the criminal courts.

  • Hypocrite says:

    I wonder what his star defenders, i.e. Netrebko, Yoncheva, Carreras, Bocelli etc. will have to say now….

  • Anna Yu says:

    He takes responsibility for their suffering, concluding that he used to think that women might reciprocate out of fear. He says bluntly that he never wanted it or did anything like it. Look carefully. I think he is very tired of this fight. He’s a wonderful man and a gentleman.
    He never denied that he had relationships with other women and showed interest in them. Also in his first statement, he said that he was sure that all relations were mutual. Then in Spain, he again confirmed that he took an interest in women, but never did so in the rude and vulgar manner that is attributed to him. He didn’t say anything new now. In fact, his words are again reduced to the fact that he did not want to offend anyone and did not know that the ladies consider his behavior undesirable. And he regrets it. Everything is logical and consistent.

    • Sycorax says:

      What would have to happen until you get that harassing women isn’t the behaviour of a gentleman?
      And how do you know that his behaviour towards women was never done “in the rude und vulgar manner that is attributed to him”? Obviously a lot of women found it rude and vulgar, obviously they felt under pressure by him.
      I’m almost sorry for you, but your hero definitely isn’t a gentleman – and now he’s admitted it (besides: do you really think that serial adultery is the behaviour of a gentleman? I’m rather generous and if my husband would once “slip” I could probably forgive him. But if he’d use every opportunity to sleep around I’d divorce him – I’ve got something like self respect and I wouldn’t want to be married to a man who’s got absolutely no respect for women, neither his own nor others).

  • Anna Yu says:

    Finally, the results of one of the “independent” investigations were published. As expected, again anonymous charges are not formalized in any way. What exactly such an inappropriate act was done by Domingo is not clear. It is also unclear who exactly was offended by them. But it is clear that the prosecutors are the same team of 27 conspirators, firmly put together by the associated Press and lawyer Debra Katz. And as we have said before, it is not so difficult to find a loser and tell him who is guilty of his lack of talent. But most interestingly, according to an article in the New York Times, the lawyers hired By the American Guild of musical artists did not speak personally with these 27 accusers, but only studied reports provided by AP journalists!!! Because they “spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the findings.” Is this normal? And did these 27 people, access to which is so secret, exist at all? Given the general mood of the media and American society, there is no need for them to hide their names if they are not lying.

    Pay attention to the moment when these questionable results were published. This happened almost immediately after the announcement of the court’s decision in the Weinstein case. When on a wave of public indignation, Metoo fans can lynch anyone with impunity. This moment was not chosen by chance. It was chosen to put maximum pressure on the great tenor, who by coincidence is now in the United States.

    Maestro Placido Domingo, being a sincere, honest man, but clearly unprepared for this kind of fight without rules, published a comment on this issue: “I have taken time over the last several months to reflect on the allegations that various colleagues of mine have made against me. I respect that these women finally felt comfortable enough to speak out, and I want them to know that I am truly sorry for the hurt that I caused them,” Domingo 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.”

    As an honest, decent, and sensitive person, he did everything right. The Maestro has always been a lover of women. It wasn’t his fault that some of them turned out to be such hysterical fools that they couldn’t say no to him because of their made-up fears. But even for this, he is ready to take responsibility, like a true gentleman. In the end, a well-behaved person apologizes by inadvertently stepping on someone’s foot, even if this foot was set up for him unexpectedly and consciously.

    However, Domingo clearly did not take into account the rotten media that quote him incompletely, taking phrases out of context and telling the world that he is an aggressor, a sex maniac, and so on, and that he confessed to it. NOTHING LIKE THAT! As before, there are no clear charges, no evidence. There are people who are offended by life, there is a plot against Domingo in the United States, there is a Guild investigation, which has to respond somehow.

    However, it is clear that this statement was a forced measure. The hysteria that has taken on the scale of a pandemic in the United States, fueled by the court decision in the Weinstein case, threatens to destroy everything in its path. The new Inquisition is hungry for blood. And although the Maestro, who is a citizen of Spain, could spit on everything and leave, members of his family, who have long settled in the United States and are active in the music industry, may be under attack. And he himself can hardly count on justice and understanding there. In this sense, the phrase about accepting responsibility can also be interpreted as an attempt to throw a bone to hungry dogs so that they fall behind. But alas, such a trick is unlikely to work on this type of dog. And as for regret, in such circumstances, any man would begin to regret that he was ever interested in women at all in his life.

    It is sad that the media in pursuit of fried facts so distort the essence of Domingo’s statement that even the most loyal fans and the most sane people may begin to doubt that he is an innocent victim of a new witch hunt. Don’t hesitate! Don’t believe manipulations! He didn’t admit to anything criminal! His response does not contradict his previous interviews in any way. He was never vulgar or disrespectful. Don’t let them mislead you. And don’t let these vile people interfere with the Maestro’s work.
    We must continue to defend his right to an open investigation. Defend its right to be protected from persecution by fanatical MeToo followers. And most importantly, we must defend his right to perform in all concert and theater halls in the world.

    I understand that the first two points are almost impossible to implement now because of mass hysteria. But we must fight for his right to perform on the stage. I was at the Mariinsky theatre when he sang Simon Boccanegra a week ago. It was amazing! We cannot allow such a great singer and artist to leave the stage. Especially because of such ridiculous accusations. We should stand against this bigotry!

    • Emil says:

      Anna, he’s admitted he caused harm and apologised. You can stop with your blanket denialism now.

    • Sycorax says:

      tl dr

      But it’s unbelievable: He admits wrong doing – and you’re still defending him in a rather disgusting attempt of victim blaming.

      Besides: How do you know the people AGMA talked with are the same as the people the AP was talking to? That’s more as I got from the sources. Besides: They’re anonymous towards the public, but certainly not towards the AP or the AGMA. However, the way people like you attack them shows why it’s better for them to remain anonymously.

      • sycorax says:

        PS: You try to maintain that the ladies who accused him at the AP are the same who did at the AGMA. There’s nothing in the AGMA statement what supports this. Just on the contrary: The AGMA asked 55 people. 27 women (that’s a few more as the AP heard) said they were harassed by him. And 12 said they were witnesses and it was widely known that he harrassed women.
        Besides I’ve looked up his statement. Most newspaper – like the New York Times – printed it in full. Hence your attempts to deny it are becoming absurd.

    • Karl says:

      Well said. The Washington Post – that bastion of fake news – is calling him a predator. It’s a feeding frenzy of fools.

  • Emil says:

    Finally an apology. Now I’d like to know what “accept full responsibility for my actions” means. If it means nothing, then this is all words.

    • Karl says:

      But his actions didn’t actually harm anyone. Some women felt bad because of them, but people are responsible for their own feelings.

      • sycorax says:

        No. Women aren’t responsible when they’re humiliated and harassed by men like PD and you. Mal lack of respect isn’t a problem caused by women! And also isn’t your disgusting disrespect of women’s emotions a problem of ours.

      • Emil says:

        What part of “the hurt that I caused them” do you not understand? As for responsibility, Domingo’s statement literally says “I accept full responsibility for my actions”.
        You’ve now pushed your denialism so far as to suggest that Domingo himself is wrong when he says he did the things he did.
        The women say they were hurt and that Domingo is responsible. Domingo says he “caused” “hurt” to the women and that he is responsible. The facts are disputed by literally no one, Domingo included – except you. It seems you’ll push your misogyny so far as to defend a sexual harasser who is literally not defending himself anymore.

        • Karl says:

          The hurt was caused by the delusion in their minds that they would be punished. Domingo is not responsible for their paranoia. People are responsible for their own feelings.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      Girls, just say NO.

      • sycorax says:

        Yep, because it’s known that men listen so well to a no and respect in every case.

        But please explain: How does it come that in 2018 88,5 % of all victims of criminal assault, stalking and harassment in Germany were women? Why 114.000 women were victims of male force?

        You’re lucky when all men you had to do with understood and respected your “no”. I’ve got other experiences, starting as I was 14 and the father of a schoolfriend of mine tried to rape me. And later – I was 24 – I told a guy I’m not interested. Three days later he attacked my in the garage of the pubisher house we worked in. I was lucky – a colleague heard me scream and saved me. Three years later my boss stood in front of the door of my appartement and thought I’d let him (and the cheap bottle of champagne he carried) in – once again I was lucky. I had a friend visiting and he kicked him out (the next day I got my dismissal. As I came to the labour office they saw where I’d worked and asked immediately: “Did he harrass you?” He was already known there).

        Most women I know have such stories to tell, so please spare me the “just say no”.

      • Larry D says:

        Just laugh it off, girls! It’s really YOUR problem!

        • V.Lind says:

          ARE YOU KIDDING?

          This long debate has brought out some of the most shocking and illogical arguments I have ever encountered on SD, and have only seen elsewhere when the current US President is being discussed.

          The blanket refusal to believe a respected news source; the blind refusal to believe a great artists can possibly have done anything wrong; the absurd defence that artists are strung differently from normal humanity so naturally they are more sexually needy (and therefore it’s all right); the condescension at the complaints of the women because it was “not rape” and the refusal to understand the deleterious effects of constant inappropriate behaviour; the preposterous nationalisation of the offences, which puritanical Americans bristled at while their European sisters were far too sophisticated to get involved in such nonsense; THE DOWNRIGHT REFUSAL TO FACE FACTS, such as the one that (necessarily) money- and status-conscious institutions of music, from the orchestras of the US to the Metropolitan Opera, have forfeited their relationships with the last standing operatic megastar in the world because of credible — to them — accounts that his presence created a toxic working atmosphere.

          And of course the underlying misogyny, which has laced this debate with its own toxicity, far uglier than the blind devotion of fans (Cosby garnered that too till the end). Those comments ceased to be about whether this Colossus of the opera stage could possibly have behaved in less than perfect way to female co-workers. They evinced the utmost contempt toward the women behind the possibility that a man could have feet of clay.

          But even in this primeval ordure, Mr. Larry D, you have managed to strike a new low. I don’t know where you come from or how you vote (though I can guess) and the word has almost been co-opted, but it still exists in the English language in its original meaning. With all the vehemence I can muster, and whether you thought you were trying to be funny or what, your view is utterly and indisputably deplorable.

  • Emil says:

    By the way, Mr Lebrecht, I believe you owe Jocelyn Gecker an apology. As does everyone else who relentlessly attacked the AP reporting.

  • Peter says:

    No surprise with the result of the investigation.
    No surprise also with PD’s very poor statement – as all of his statements so far, it is still though incredible that somebody like him has nobody close to him that could advise him wiser… Basically “I am 80, but this experience has helped me grow”?!?, “I am sorry, but I am grateful I can help other people like me move forward after such experience”… ?!?!?!?!?!?!
    I also sense a fright of a possible trial here…
    This is nuts, but hopefully all his groupies and hysterical fans can calm down… If one is a good/great/wonderful artist, it does not mean that this person is also nice… and for sure PD was not a good guy at all!
    This happens to people who only think of power, abuse of power, thirst for power… instead of finding the right time to make a step back, to leave others have their time.
    I wonder how the Royal Opera will react – after they have fired Grigolo for the Japan “curtain call drama” (subsequently he being also fired from the Met), so the ROH should be firm here now having such an investigation concluded! It was ridiculous in the first place to schedule the role debut of the tenor-turned-into-baritone in Rodrigo in Don Carlo, what are people thinking to schedule such nonsense?!?
    It is time to RETIRE, it was already time 15 years ago!!!
    Cheers,
    Peter

    • Saxon Broken says:

      Deplorable as Domingo’s behaviour was, they don’t amount to anything as bad as Weinstein’s (as far as we know). And even people who behave horribly in some contexts can also behave well in others: and this is certainly true for Domingo.

      As for he ROH: in Europe an employee can not be fired without cause. If Domingo has not misbehaved at the ROH then they can not peremptorily fired. No doubt they now regret having hired him.

  • M2N2K says:

    This new statement does not indicate that PD has changed his opinion of the accusations against him. It does show however that he has improved his understanding of the current climate. As usual in US, “movements” and social changes that get started with best intentions, and as honest responses to genuine need of correcting various injustices and unfairness, sooner or later go way overboard and become caricatures of themselves, often developing into shameless unfairness in the opposite direction. In this instance, many people become blinded by their desire for revenge and stop seeing any difference between truly criminal behavior (Weinstein, Cosby) and allegations of possibly inappropriate but relatively harmless conduct such as PD is being accused of. Looks like he has come to realize this now and therefore has issued a more apologetic statement than the one (or two) that he made last year.

  • Soprano says:

    I remember that not long ago, lots of people in this forum claimed that the allegations against Domingo had no credibility.

    • Karl says:

      They still don’t. It’s just that the definition of sexual harassment has expanded to a ridiculous extent. Now just flirting with a woman is considered harassment. It wasn’t 20-30 years ago when Domingo flirted with women. It still shouldn’t be considered harassment.

  • Rudy says:

    Domingo is a coward, he apologized too late, because the results of the investigation.

  • Emil says:

    I accept full responsibility, which is why I wanted to pay 500,000$ to the union to silence its findings. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/arts/music/placido-domingo-sexual-misconduct.html
    The dishonesty is breathtaking, if utterly unsurprising.

    • M2N2K says:

      Your unfairness is entirely “unsurprising” as well. Selectively reading only one side of the story and presenting it as proven fact, as you have done in this comment, is what really is grossly dishonest.

  • Luca says:

    We live in a sex-obsessed society. The top newspapers give advice on the subject – fair enough – but how many thousands of women are working on the porn sites? How many women have been the willing conquests of certain pop stars who have topped the four thousand? How many women are willing for a one-night stand? – all to the good but it’s only a short step to some males believing all women are available.

    • Lynne says:

      If it is the woman’s choice, I see no problem. It’s when they are harassed and assaulted that there is a problem. Can you not see the difference?

      • Luca says:

        You have missed the point! I wrote, “It’s only a short step” in view of our sex-obsessed society.

        • Lynne says:

          You have missed the point…no matter how a woman dresses, how she dances, it is her business and hers alone who gets to touch her, who gets to have sex with her, who gets to be intimate in any way. If a man can not see this, if he thinks that because a woman dresses, dances or act provocatively that he has the right to do as he wishes, then he and he alone is in the wrong, no matter how “short” the steps seem to be.

          • Luca says:

            Your right in saying it’s her business but the fact remains that certain forms of behaviour put the perpetrator at risk.

          • M2N2K says:

            At no point did Luca say anything about “how woman dresses” or “how she dances”. You, Lynne, are making a typical straw (wo)man argument.

  • MOST READ TODAY: