Scandal-hit opera singer Plácido Domingo, 79, dodges sexual harassment questions as he denies abusing his power at two US opera houses - and admits he won't perform again in America

Opera legend Plácido Domingo has dodged questions about claims he sexually harassed multiple women over a period of 30 years as he denied abusing his power during his tenure at two US opera houses.  

When questioned over two separate investigations that found star Spanish tenor Domingo, 79, may have engaged in 'inappropriate conduct' while holding management positions at Los Angeles Opera and Washington National Opera, the interview was briefly cut off.   

Multiple women allege he forcibly kissed, grabbed and fondled them over a period of more than 30 years. 

When the interview resumed, Domingo, who deflected other questions about the alleged harassment, said, 'Never, never, never,' when asked if he had misused his power as a manager.    

Domingo's career in the US and his native Spain have been crippled by the allegations and he said he sees a return to American stages as unlikely. 

The women said Domingo - who is best known for performing as one of the 'Three Tenors' - dangled career opportunities as he pursued sexual relationships with them and then withdrew the offers or stopped hiring them when they rejected his advances. 

In February Domingo apologised for 'the hurt' caused to his accusers, saying he accepted 'full responsibility' for his actions.  

Just two days later, after his native Spain canceled all of his engagements, he issued another statement saying the apology had given a 'false impression' and he had 'never behaved aggressively with anyone' or done anything to obstruct their careers.  

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Spanish tenor Placido Domingo speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Naples yesterday 

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 Spanish tenor Placido Domingo pretends to play the piano for the photographer, as he wages a full-throttle campaign to clear his name, after an interview with the Associated Press in Naples yesterday 

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Spanish opera tenor Placido Domingo performs during a concert at the Royal Palace of Caserta, Italy on Saturday, his first performance after recovering from coronavirus. 

LA Opera and the American Guild of Musical Artists conducted two separate investigations with the former finding that he had not abused his power. However, AGMA found a clear pattern of such abuse, according to insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

The tenor, who has moved into baritone roles, said he realized he would no longer be welcome at New York's Metropolitan Opera or at LA Opera, both of which he helped found.  

'It's very sad for me not to be able to sing ... in the United States. I enjoy it so much,' Domingo said. 'For over a half-century ... the public has been really, really extraordinary.' 

Focusing the interview on the abuse of power allegations, Domingo said that in opera companies responsibilities are split, meaning that he was never the only person to cast roles. 

'I never promised a part to a singer, or never take a part from a singer,' he said. 

'I have spent my whole life helping, and you know, encouraging and driving people.'

'People that deserved to sing were singing,' he explained.

The AP reporter asked Domingo about the fact that both investigations had found sexual harassment accusations were credible, and that one had found a pattern of abuse, but Domingo's team briefly cut off the interview.   

The AGMA has never released the full report of its findings, but Domingo's managers referred to two written statements by the union - one for the public and one for members - neither of which mentioned abuse of power. 

They also cited Washington Opera never launching an investigation as an indication that such allegations were baseless.

Domingo put the focus on the abuse of power allegations during a wide-ranging interview in the library of his Naples hotel. 

It has emerged as his main line of defense against the accusations that tarnished a year in which he celebrated his 50-year anniversaries at both Milan's La Scala theater and Arena di Verona.

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This July 2019 file photo shows former opera singer Patricia Wulf, recounting her experiences, during an interview at her home in Virginia. Wulf accused Domingo of repeated, unwanted propositions when she sang with him at Washington Opera in 1998

The star tenor, who has moved into baritone roles, has emerged from a bout with coronavirus that put him in the hospital in Mexico for 10 days in March with a mission to rehabilitate his opera career as he approaches his 80th birthday.

'It was really a big blow when we got - both my wife and me - we got the coronavirus. It was a terrible impression because for a singer, one's lungs are very important,' he said, noting that his singing training might ultimately have made him resilient and helped him recover.

Recognizing that the virus could lead to death, 'you make decisions that if everything goes well, we need to fix many things in life,´ he said.

In Domingo's response to the accusations in AP's initial story, he had said he recognized 'the rules and standards by which we are - and should be - measured' had changed over the decades. 

Asked what he meant in his first statement about the rules changing, Domingo responded, 'The problem is that so much time has passed. I must, what we are trying to do, is clear my name, above all for my family.'

He said he hopes he can smooth out what he sees as a misunderstanding with Spanish officials' responding to press reports without speaking directly to him so he can once again perform in the country where his parents once ran the Zarzuela light opera house in Madrid.

In Europe, Domingo has a full singing and conducting schedule for the fall, mostly concentrated in Italy, Germany and Austria, that started with a Saturday concert in nearby Caserta, where he demonstrated that his voice had not been harmed by the virus.

'A concert like yesterday, or like I am doing in Verona this week, is easy. It is not a complete opera,' Domingo said.

'I wonder how it will be when I get to Vienna at the beginning of September to do a whole production. I don't know how we will do the staging, or how close the singers will be. We don't have masks on, and we are making a big effort. It is going to be very complicated.'