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Greater LA

‘We didn’t trust him,’ says Plácido Domingo’s former colleague

The LA Opera’s new season begins this weekend with a romantic opera "La Boheme." But there's a storm cloud looming overhead.

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KCRW placeholderBy Jarrett Hill • Sep 10, 2019 • 1 min read

The LA Opera’s new season begins this weekend with a romantic opera "La Boheme." But there's a storm cloud looming overhead. The company’s director and star, Plácido Domingo, is accused of sexual harassment by more than a dozen women who say he touched them, kissed them, and called them late at night. Melinda McLain was a production coordinator at the LA Opera in the 1980s, and says she witnessed Domingo’s behavior.

"I saw him at least once grab one of the supernumeraries and just lay a kiss on her, and in her shock she just sort of backed up," she said. "I also had young singers come and seek advice about how to repel his advances, and older, principal singers were concerned about their own marriages because of the inappropriate touching."

  • KCRW placeholder

    Jarrett Hill

    journalist

  • KCRW placeholder

    Christian Bordal

    Managing Producer, Greater LA

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Kathryn Barnes

    Producer, Reporter

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    Amy Ta

    Digital News & Culture Editor

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    Melinda McLain

    Former production coordinator, LA Opera

    NewsLos AngelesArts
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