11 more women come forward to accuse Placido Domingo of sexual harassment

Further allegations come after the Spanish opera singer reportedly groped a female singer before a performance

Opera singer Placido Domingo 

Eleven more women have accused Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo of sexual harassment.

The latest allegations come three weeks after eight singers and a dancer came forward and claimed that Domingo had used his position as one of opera's most celebrated singers to pressure them into sexual relationships. The allegations date back to the 1980s.

Domingo rejected the claims at the time, describing them as “deeply troubling”.

"I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual," he said. "People who know me or who have worked with me know that I am not someone who would intentionally harm, offend, or embarrass anyone."

But now, in an interview with The Associated Press, Angela Turner Wilson, a singer who worked with Domingo at the Washington Opera during the 1999-2000 season, said that he put his hand down her dress before a performance of Jules Massenet's Le Cid.

“It hurt,” said Wilson, who was 28 at the time. “It was not gentle. He groped me hard.”

She continued: " Then I had to go on stage and act like I was in love with him."

Other women told AP that Domingo, currently the general director of Los Angeles Opera, pushed them for private meetings and attempted to kiss them on the lips.

Other people who worked with Domingo have also explained how they tried to keep young women away from the star. Melinda McLain, production coordinator at LA Opera in 1986-87 said: “We created these elaborate schemes for keeping him away from particular singers […] I never would have sent any woman of any sort into his dressing room.”

A spokeswoman for Domingo described the claims as “riddled with inconsistencies” and “simply incorrect”.

“The ongoing campaign by the AP to denigrate Placido Domingo is not only inaccurate but unethical. These new claims are riddled with inconsistencies and, as with the first story, in many ways, simply incorrect,” said spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer. “Due to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment on specifics, but we strongly dispute the misleading picture that the AP is attempting to paint of Mr Domingo.”