Placido Domingo withdraws from Met Opera amid sexual harassment allegations

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Opera singer Placido Domingo announced Tuesday he will withdraw from his performances at New York's Metropolitan Opera after being accused of sexual harassment by 20 women.

Domingo, 73, announced his withdrawal and denied the allegations lodged against him in a statement to The New York Times, one day before he was set to perform the lead role in Macbeth.

Last month, multiple people accused Domingo of pressuring women into sexual relationships in exchange for professional favors.

"While I strongly dispute recent allegations made about me and I am concerned about a climate in which people are condemned without due process, upon reflection I believe that my appearance in this production of Macbeth would distract from the hard work of my colleagues both onstage and behind the scenes," he said. "As a result, I have asked to withdraw and I thank the leadership of the Met for graciously granting my request."

The Met also issued a statement confirming Domingo's withdrawal after having previously stated it would await the results of an investigation by the Los Angeles Opera, where Domingo is general director, before changing his planned appearances.

"The Metropolitan Opera confirms that Placido Domingo has agreed to withdraw from all future performances at the Met, effective immediately," the statement said. "The Met and Mr. Domingo are in agreement that he needed to step down."

In a separate statement, the Met announced it would also suspend singer Vittorio Grigolo after the Royal Opera House suspended him and opened an investigation into reports of sexual misconduct.

"Following the alleged incident reported by the Royal Opera House concerning Vittorio Grigolo, the Met will be suspending him with immediate effect from all future performances, pending the outcome of the ROH investigation," the Met said.

Grigolo was suspended from the Royal Opera House after he allegedly groped a female chorus singer during a curtain call while the company was on tour in Japan last week.