The glittering production was a high point of the Washington Opera's 1999-2000 season: Jules Massenet's "Le Cid," about a legendary Spanish conqueror, starring a tenor legendary in his own right — Placido Domingo, then the company's artistic director. The opera, also being filmed
The glittering production was a high point of the Washington Opera's 1999-2000 season: Jules Massenet's"Le Cid," about a legendary Spanish conqueror, starring a tenor legendary in his own right — Placido Domingo, then the company's artistic director.
Wilson, now 48 and a college voice teacher in the Dallas area, was one of 11 women to come forward after an Aug. 13 AP story in which numerous women accused the long-married, Spanish-born superstar of sexual harassment or inappropriate, sexually charged behavior and of sometimes damaging their careers if they rejected him.
Wilson said she was spurred to come forward after the 78-year-old Domingo's reaction to the AP's initial story, in which he said he believed his actions"were always welcomed and consensual" and added that"the rules and standards by which we are — and should be — measured against today are very different than they were in the past.""What woman would ever want him to grab their breast? And it hurt," she said.
Several people who have worked in the costume department of the LA Opera, where Domingo has served in various capacities since the 1980s, said his backstage behavior was common knowledge and that management had been aware of it for years. One employee said her colleagues tried to steer clear of sending women into fittings with Domingo as recently as the 2016-2017 season.
One established soprano said she feared not only for herself but for her husband, who also works in opera. Others spoke of wanting to protect an art form that is struggling to remain relevant in the U.S. And some said vocal support for Domingo in Europe — and skepticism of the women's accusations — has made them more fearful of coming forward publicly.
Some of the women told the AP that avoidance strategies included asking Domingo about his grandchildren to distract him and giggling awkwardly and pretending they didn't quite understand when he asked for their phone numbers or suggested they meet somewhere. Wulf told the AP that Domingo would confront her night after night when they performed together with the same whispered question, uttered very close to her face:"'Patricia, do you have to go home tonight?'"
There were frequent invitations, Wilson said — to come to his apartment to watch a video of a role he wanted her to sing. To go to dinner. Just the two of them. "I said, 'I'll make you a deal. You can kiss my cheek' So he kissed me on my cheek. And then he left. And it scared me so badly. I went back to my dressing table and was shaking. I remember thinking, 'Now I'm in trouble. How am I going to manage him now?'"
She said she called her husband and her parents that night — and also the night he tried to kiss her — and all three confirmed to the AP that she was upset and in tears when she related to them what happened. "Anybody who gets 'singer of the year' at that company or any company looks at it as a ticket to a relationship with that company," she said."It's saying you have done good work and deserve to come back. It's not usually a farewell."
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