AP: Soul-searching in opera world after tumultuous #MeToo year

By JOCELYN GECKER

29 December 2019

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — It was a tumultuous year in the opera world, a year in which sexual harassment allegations against superstar Placido Domingo prompted his disappearance from American stages and sparked deep soul-searching.

Opera performers are applauding new official efforts to create a workplace free of sexual misconduct, but say many in the industry remain fearful of speaking up about predators, particularly those in positions of power.

“The problem is so much bigger than Placido Domingo. It’s the whole environment,” said American soprano Lauren Flanigan, adding that in her decades-long career “almost every rehearsal I was ever in was sexualized — literally every rehearsal.”

Two investigations into Domingo’s behavior were opened after Associated Press stories in which more than 20 women said the legendary tenor had pressured them into sexual relationships, behaved inappropriately and sometimes professionally punished those who rebuffed him. Dozens of others told the AP that they had witnessed his behavior.

One of the ongoing investigations is at Los Angeles Opera, where Domingo was general director since 2003. He resigned from the company in October, saying the allegations had “compromised” his ability to continue.

Read the full article in the Associated Press.