The tenor intended to pay $ 500,000 to mitigate the impact of the report that accused him of improper behavior with women
Who has asked Plácido Domingo for forgiveness ?: the women who pointed to the tenor
Until a few days ago he still had the warmth of the public at home. On Tuesday, the publication of an investigation by the US opera musicians union (AGMA) giving an account of the "flirting" and "sexual propositions inside and outside the workplace " of Plácido Domingo forced him to sing the mea culpa . Now they have also turned their backs on their own land. They don't want him at the Teatro de la Zarzuela or at the Palau de las Arts in Valencia, nor will he sing again - presumably - at the Teatro Real, in an episode that has not only threatened to kill his career as a singer but has uncovered the requirements shady to which he turned to try to save his image.
According to sources cited by The New York Times , Domingo was in talks to pay $ 500,000 to AGMA and thus limit the details and statements of the report that was made public on Tuesday. It concludes that the opera star abused at least 27 women during his time as director of the National Opera of Washington and Los Angeles. That "improper behavior" lasted for two decades.
However, the agreement fell apart after the details of the investigation leaked hours before and saw the light, as contained in the email of one of the bosses of the union to which the Times had access .
"Based on this flagrant breach of confidentiality, Domingo's lawyer has withdrawn the agreement, which is expressly based on AGMA's promise to maintain confidentiality about the details of the investigation report," says an email that was signed by Leonard Egert, the executive director of the union and its president, Raymond Menard.
It would have been the largest fine imposed by the union, as AGMA acknowledged in a statement, although never a form of bribery "in exchange for the silence of AGMA or as a secret agreement", an issue that the representatives of Domingo have not wanted to confirm nor deny. Nancy Seltzer, the spokeswoman for the tenor in the US, acknowledged to the Times that negotiations with the union were continuing and told EL MUNDO that he had nothing more to add to what was expressed by Domingo in his statement Tuesday sent to the Associated Press (AP) ), the same one that uncovered the scandal in August 2019.
"In recent months I have had time to reflect on the accusations that several of my colleagues have made against me," said the 79-year-old singer. "I respect the fact that these women have finally had the courage to denounce and I want them to know that I am truly sorry for the damage caused. I take full responsibility for my actions and have grown from this experience."
His was a very different speech to his first reaction last summer, when he self-exculpted after being accused by nine women of abuse and described the events narrated by his alleged victims of "inaccurate". He even spoke of a campaign orchestrated by the AP agency to destroy his reputation with the second wave of accusations, 11 more women including Angela Turner Wilson, a soprano with whom he shared the stage in Washington and who related how Domingo touched her breasts In the dressing room.
On Thursday, however, he modified his story again after the avalanche of cancellations that came upon him and worried about having left "a false impression" with his first statement. "My apology was sincere and heartfelt, but I know what I have not done and I will deny it again. I have never behaved aggressively with anyone, nor have I done anything to obstruct or damage anyone's career. Quite the contrary. I have dedicated a large part of my half century in the world of opera to help the industry and promote the career of countless singers. "
THE VOICE OF THE COMPLAINTS
In the United States, the initial apologies caused some sense of relief among its victims. Patricia Wulf, the first to publicly accuse the tenor, interpreted it as something positive. "If he's sincere in his apology, that's fantastic," he said. "We all know that recently there have been men who have harassed and raped women who have simply disappeared and never apologized."
He was also well received by Uruguayan soprano Luz del Alba Rubio, who took advantage of the singer's apology to denounce the harassment to which he was subjected in the past. It happened in Rome in 1999. Domingo heard her sing and invited her to join the Washington Opera, where she performed three times. Then the pressures of the Spanish began, based on constant calls, kisses and fights that caused her to reject him one night during a rehearsal in her apartment.
After that, they didn't hire her again in Washington and "papers she had promised me never materialized." Almost 20 years later, he has felt with enough support to tell.
"I feel like we have conquered Goliath. Now we don't have to be afraid to talk."
Light of the Blond Dawn.
Wulf wants to go further. She is convinced of her right to know all the details of the investigation and has expressed her dissatisfaction with the union's stance of not making them public for now. His statement was brief and limited himself to pointing out that they will work so that situations do not happen again.
"I have the right to see that report," Wulf told NPR radio. "We all deserve to see the report in full. I think AGMA is trying to hide the report and should step forward and protect people from this kind of predators." The union, meanwhile, has shielded how difficult it was to get those affected to cooperate with the investigation and the "real" fear of reprisals, so they were guaranteed absolute confidentiality.
Debra Katz, Wulf's lawyer, said the union has failed the women she represents. "Instead of negotiating a favorable contract with him, they should expel him from the union. And they are not doing it," he said.
Who is studying to put an end to his relationship with the tenor is the organization of the Salzburg Festival where he performed Sunday for the first time after the scandal broke out. That ovation after singing Luisa Miller, of Verdi, was not one more in her extensive collection. It was an important endorsement once places like Dallas, San Francisco and Philadephia had already taken the decision to never work with Madrid again.
Then came the most significant, his disengagement from the Metropolitan of New York, where he debuted with 27 years and acted for 51 seasons, and the Los Angeles Opera he directed since 2003. From that company originated much of the complaints against Sunday. There was already vox populi how to behave tenor for years. There were instructions not even to leave him alone with a woman in a dressing room to avoid unpleasant situations. And nobody wanted to report for fear of harming their careers. All this could be reflected in the results of the investigation in which the Los Angeles Opera has been working for months.
Domingo has the hope of acting in cities where he has not yet been convicted of his actions. He has scheduled appointments in Hamburg - singing Simon Boccanegra de Verdi-, a concert in Lucerne (Switzerland), another in Belarus, two in Moscow, and performances in Vienna, Verona, London, Florence, Munich, Milan, Cologne and Salzburg.
What is already certain is that he will not be able to sing La Traviata in May at the Teatro Real in Madrid, where all the tickets sold for four functions were, and that he will not perform on May 14 and 15 at the Teatro de la Zarzuela for commemorate 50 years of his debut, in a decision communicated by the Minister of Culture and Sports, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes. "Until now the situation was different, there was a presumption of innocence," he said. Domingo was going to sing Luisa Fernanda.
He himself is aware of the difficulty of completing that ambitious concert calendar with the panorama ahead. He has already said that he will resign from them if it is a problem for the theaters and companies with which he still has a contract. No one knows for sure how many more concerts his agonizing career has left.
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