Placido Domingo resigns from LA Opera amid sexual harassment investigation
In this file photo taken on August 28, 2019, Spanish tenor Placido Domingo performs during his concert in the newly inaugurated sports and culture centre 'St Gellert Forum' in Szeged, southern Hungary.
The world-renowned opera artist Placido Domingo announced Wednesday he is resigning as general director of Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances, according to local media reports.
"Recent accusations that have been made against me in the press have created an atmosphere in which my ability to serve this company that I so love has been compromised," the Los Angeles Times quoted Domingo as saying in a statement.
"While I will continue to work to clear my name, I have decided that it is in the best interests of L.A. Opera for me to resign as its general director and withdraw from my future scheduled performances at this time," said the statement.
Los Angeles Opera called Domingo the driving force behind its creation and growth and credited him for his cultural contributions to the city that were "unprecedented and profound."
The company noted that Domingo performed more than 300 times in 31 different roles and conducted more than 100 times in Southern California.
The announcement came a week after Domingo agreed to withdraw from a run of performances at the Metropolitan Opera and said that he would not return there, a place where he had performed every season for five decades.
L.A. Opera's chief executive Christopher Koelsch acknowledged in a letter to the staff Wednesday that, the harassment allegations against Domingo and resulting internal investigation created a "painful and challenging period" for L.A. Opera.
An internal investigation will continue until its resolution, he added.
