“Stephen Lord, the principal conductor at the Michigan Opera Theatre who resigned Wednesday amid published accusations of sexual harassment, denied the allegations Thursday, saying he never was aware of any complaints,” writes Michael Hodges in Thursday’s (6/20) Detroit News. “In an email response to The Detroit News, Lord called accusations that he threatened professional retaliation should alleged victims go to authorities ‘offensive’ and ‘cowardly. …I could fight all of this and I still might,’ Lord wrote. ‘Yesterday I had two of the world’s most famous opera singers, one from Moscow even, call. And three former employers. These are friends and people with whom I have lived and who know me inside and out and they were in tears seeing their friend assassinated.’ The Massachusetts native, 70, was fired Wednesday as music director emeritus at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he’d worked since 1992. Lord joined the Michigan Opera Theatre in 2016…. Spokesmen at his three most recent places of employment—the Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Boston Lyric Opera—all said Thursday that they never had any complaints about Lord.”
Posted June 21, 2019
