“Six more women have stepped forward to accuse prominent conductor Charles Dutoit of sexually assaulting them in the United States, France and Canada, including a musician who says the maestro raped her in 1988,” write Jocelyn Gecker and Janie Har in Thursday’s (1/11) Associated Press. “The women said they were compelled to speak out after … a story Dec. 21 detailing accusations from three singers and a musician…. The new accusers said … the Swiss-born conductor attacked them in Paris, Montreal and the United States over a four-decade period, starting in the late 1970s.” Dutoit has denied the new allegations, from French soprano Anne-Sophie Schmidt, Canadian soprano Pauline Vaillancourt, Canadian musician Mary Lou Basaraba, pianist Jenny Chai, and theater director Fiona Allen, the latter also previously reported in the Boston Globe. “The woman who accused the conductor of raping her said the assault occurred … on the East Coast of the U.S in early 1988. The AP does not publish the names of people who say they are victims of sexual assault without their permission…. The musician said she was 28 and auditioning for an orchestra where Dutoit was guest-conducting…. The AP cross-checked all the accusers’ accounts with friends or colleagues they talked to about their experiences.”
Posted January 12, 2018
