With the New York Met dropping Placido Domingo over claims he sexually harassed female performers, the question arises whether other venues should follow suit. Here Martin Kettle argues for Covent Garden to abandon bookings with the opera star, regardless of the glamour, artistry and ticket sales he attracts.
'Placido Domingo’s total withdrawal from the Metropolitan Opera in the wake of continuing sexual harassment allegations against him ought to mark a line in the sand for the operatic world. The problem, however, is that when the world of opera is confronted with an expanse of sand, its instinct is to bury its head in it.
From the moment the allegations against Domingo from women at the Los Angeles and Washington operas first erupted in public in August, it was clear that the 78-year-old’s performances this month at the New York Met, where he has performed since 1968, should have been put on ice. The allegations, which Domingo denies, often in very dignified language, were serious. The Met must have known that the singer’s next US performances – in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Met starting this week – could not go ahead in such an atmosphere.
And yet, the Met allowed the issue to remain unresolved until the very eve of its 2019-20 season today.' ... Keep reading on The Guardian