PROBE

Opera Union Opens Investigation Into Domingo Sexual Harassment Allegations

The union said it will examine how Domingo’s alleged behavior continued “unchallenged for decades.”

The American Guild of Musical Artists, the union that represents opera performers and staff, has opened an investigation into the mounting sexual harassment allegations against Placido Domingo, a superstar in the opera world. The union said it is launching its own investigation because it can no longer trust the various opera companies that have employed Domingo, 78, to thoroughly review the allegations. In an email to union members announcing the probe, the union noted that companies “have been unwilling or unable to provide AGMA with sufficient assurances about the scope and timing of their investigations, as well as whether or not the findings will be publicly disclosed or otherwise made available to the union.”

Len Egert, the union’s national executive director, said in the email that their investigation will “examine the systemic failures within the industry that could have allowed this conduct, if substantiated, to continue unchallenged for decades.” The investigation will look at Domingo’s conduct across his many companies, and will not be limited to a specific time frame, Egert said.