Domingo quitting as director of D.C. opera

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Tenor Placido Domingo has announced he won't renew his contract as general director of the Washington National Opera when his current pact expires in June.

The Washington Post said the 69-year-old performer informed the opera's board during a conference call Monday of his decision to leave the position he has held the past seven years. Before becoming general director, the singer and conductor was the company's artistic director, starting in 1996.

"As I come to the end of my tenure at Washington National Opera, I think it is time for the company to go in new directions, including studying the possibility of a merger with the Kennedy Center," the Post reported Domingo wrote in a letter to the board. "And you can rest assured that I will do everything I can to help during this, my last year as general director."

The newspaper said the announcement comes one week after Domingo extended his contract with the Los Angeles Opera, which he also runs.

"He's been part of this company for a long time. He's very much beloved. I think people haven't actually digested this information yet, or what it could mean for the company," JoAnn LaBrecque-French, the Washington opera company's director of marketing and communications, told the Post.