Placido Domingo, accused of sexual harassment, cancels a performance in Tokyo before the Olympics

Tokyo (AFP)

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, accused of sexual harassment by twenty women, has given up a stage performance scheduled for April 2020 in Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, announced Friday the organizers.

"After careful consideration, I made the decision not to participate in Kabuki Opera because of the complexity of the project," Placido Domingo said in a statement from the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which said it took note of this package.

Mr. Domingo said he hopes to have a new opportunity to perform with Kabuki artists (a Japanese theater form where only men play) in the near future, praising the "merger of two theatrical traditions, meaning the union of two cultures on the same scene, in perfect harmony with the spirit of the Olympics ".

The statement makes no mention of the sexual harassment charges facing the 78-year-old artist, but he has already been forced to give up several concerts (in the United States, in particular) and an award ceremony.

Placido Domingo also left in October the direction of the Los Angeles Opera, which he had held since 2003.

"Recent accusations in the media have created an atmosphere that prevents me from being useful to this company that I love so much," said the tenor.

In a survey published in August by the Associated Press, nine women said they were harassed by the singer from the late 1980s.

The Associated Press released a second investigation on Sept. 7 claiming that 11 other women, also claiming to be victims, had come forward.

Placido Domingo gave up performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera have canceled performances scheduled this season, and the Dallas Opera has canceled a concert scheduled for March 2020.

While his American career seems to be coming to an end, Placido Domingo nevertheless continues to give performances across Europe. Ovationate this summer at the Salzburg Festival in Austria and in Szeged, Hungary, he sang in October in Zurich and Moscow.

© 2019 AFP