“In an 11th-hour reversal, the superstar singer Plácido Domingo withdrew on Tuesday from the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ and indicated he would not return to the Met amid rising tensions over how the company was responding to allegations that he had sexually harassed multiple women,” writes Michael Cooper in Tuesday’s (9/24) New York Times. “Mr. Domingo’s withdrawal on the eve of the performance—opening night [of Macbeth] is Wednesday—came as a growing number of people who work at the Met expressed concern about his planned appearance. Other American cultural institutions, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera, had already canceled Mr. Domingo’s upcoming appearances, citing the need to provide a safe workplace.” After initially saying it would wait for the outcome of a sexual harassment investigation by the LA Opera, where Domingo is general director, on Tuesday the Met stated: “The Metropolitan Opera confirms that Plácido Domingo has agreed to withdraw from all future performances at the Met, effective immediately…. The Met and Mr. Domingo are in agreement that he needed to step down.” In a statement, Domingo said, “While I strongly dispute recent allegations made about me … I believe that my appearance in this production of ‘Macbeth’ would distract” from the opera.
Posted September 25, 2019
In photo: Plácido Domingo at the onstage ceremony in November 2018 honoring his 50th anniversary at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo by Karsten Moran
