Opera star Plácido Domingo, acting at a live performance in Marbella, Spain on July 11.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP through Getty Photos
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Jorge Guerrero/AFP through Getty Photos
Opera star Plácido Domingo, acting at a live performance in Marbella, Spain on July 11.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP through Getty Photos
Prosecutors in Argentina have linked disgraced opera star Plácido Domingo to a prison group in Buenos Aires that was a entrance for sexual trafficking, together with of minors, in addition to different crimes.
Final week, police performed 50 raids in opposition to the BA Group, which operated underneath the title Buenos Aires Yoga Faculty, and 19 individuals had been arrested.
Quite a few broadcast channels in Latin America have been airing excerpts of audio recordings, obtained by wiretap, that embrace the voice of a person whom authorities declare is Domingo planning with members of the alleged prison ring. The dates of those wiretap recordings haven’t been made public.
Since 2019 greater than 20 girls have come ahead publicly with misconduct claims in opposition to Domingo. On account of these accusations, Domingo parted methods with New York’s Metropolitan Opera and resigned from his function as basic director of LA Opera in California. In March 2020, Domingo’s title was eliminated from the younger artist early profession program on the Washington Nationwide Opera in Washington, D.C., the place he served as creative director and later basic director from 1996 to 2011.
In a single excerpt from the wiretap recordings from Argentina, a person whom prosecutors say is Domingo is heard speaking to “Mendy,” a lady with whom he’s allegedly planning for a sexual encounter. On the tape, the person describes particulars of his plans to go away a dinner individually from his brokers and different representatives, to elude their discover, in order that he might meet her. One other excerpt consists of “Mendy” calling the alleged chief of the crime ring, Juan Percowicz, to rejoice that she has confirmed plans with the person, whom she refers to as “Plácido.”
NPR has reached out to Domingo’s representatives for remark however didn’t instantly obtain any response. NPR will replace this story with any feedback from Domingo.
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Now 81 years outdated, the Spanish-born Domingo was previously certainly one of opera’s most reliably bankable stars and was a family title worldwide due to his participation in The Three Tenors alongside the late Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras.
Domingo’s profession overseas has survived the sexual misconduct allegations: he has reemerged in latest months for performances throughout Europe, Latin America and the Center East, and he stays a model ambassador for Rolex watches.
In an admiring profile printed by Deutsche Welle in Jan. 2021 that hailed his “distinctive profession,” Domingo declined to deal with the allegations and mentioned that he most popular to “commit himself to different challenges.”
