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For opera legend Placido Domingo, the show goes on in Europe

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For opera legend Placido Domingo, the show goes on in Europe
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For opera legend Placido Domingo, the show goes on in Europe

2019-10-12 21:49 Last Updated At:22:00

Even as his U.S. career seemingly winds down amid accusations of sexual harassment, opera legend Placido Domingo remains on the bill of a host of European opera houses. But cracks, even if slight, are beginning to show in his support.

The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in "Nabucco" at the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland on Sunday.

It will be Domingo's first performance since he stepped down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrew from future performances at the company.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo performs during a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo performs during a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

The move left the star with no more U.S. dates on his public calendar, putting a question mark over his professional future in a country where he thrived artistically for decades.

In addition to LA Opera, three U.S. musical companies already had canceled Domingo performances, and he also pulled out of a series of appearances at New York's Metropolitan Opera under pressure.

The U.S. response has been relatively decisive in the wake of a pair of reports by The Associated Press in August and September based on interviews with more than 20 women who accused Domingo of sexual harassment or other inappropriate contact.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo holds the hand of Ana Maria Martinez at the end of a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo holds the hand of Ana Maria Martinez at the end of a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

Domingo has denied the allegations.

In contrast to the United States, so far no theater in Europe, where the #MeToo movement has had little impact, has canceled any of the singer's planned performances on calendars running through the fall of 2020.

In continuing the performances, European venues have cited an absence of allegations in their venues, the lack of a judicial case against him and the singer's well-known affability and undeniable popularity.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo performs during a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

FILE - In this file photo taken on Aug. 28, 2019, Opera star Placido Domingo performs during a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh)

No investigations have been announced in Europe, although some houses say they are awaiting the outcome of one being conducted at LA Opera, suggesting possible future action depending on the findings.

Even as the Zurich Opera confirmed again last week that Domingo would sing the role of Nabucco in what it has been billed as "a really special gala performance," the Swiss venue emphasized that it continues to monitor the situation.

"We have given a lot of thought about the upcoming performance of Plácido Domingo as Nabucco on 13 October and we take the matter very seriously," spokeswoman Bettina Auge said in an email. "The Zurich Opera commits to establishing a work environment which is free of sexual harassment."

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2019 file photo, opera star Placido Domingo salutes spectators at the end of a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2019 file photo, opera star Placido Domingo salutes spectators at the end of a concert in Szeged, Hungary. The 78-year-old singer who rose to stardom as a tenor has been confirmed to sing the baritone title role in “Nabucco” at the Zurich Opera House this Sunday. It will be his first time performing since stepping down Oct. 2 as general director of the Los Angeles Opera and withdrawing from future performances at the company. (AP PhotoLaszlo Balogh, File)

Auge added, "For us the presumption of innocence is very important."

Even before Domingo removed himself from the Los Angeles opera, the opera critic for Britain's Guardian newspaper wrote that that singer's "total withdrawal from the Metropolitan Opera in the wake of continuing sexual harassment allegations against him ought to mark a line in the sand for the operatic world."

"The problem, however, is that when the world of opera is confronted with an expanse of sand, its instinct is to bury its head in it," the Guardian's Martin Kettle wrote last month. The headline for Kettle's column said London's Royal Opera House "is living in a dream world if it thinks Domingo should perform there still."

Domingo isn't scheduled to sing at the Royal Opera House until the July 2020 production of "Don Carlo." Cast to sing the baritone part of Rodrigo, it would mark his 28th role there since 1971.

The opera house, called Covent Garden for short due to its location in the London district of that name, previously said it wasn't aware of any accusations from his earlier appearances there and expressed a "zero tolerance policy towards harassment of any kind."

This week, the Royal Opera declined to comment further when asked if there were any changes in the calendar in the wake of the U.S. developments.

"It would not be appropriate for us to comment before the conclusion of the formal investigation into Placido Domingo in Los Angeles," it said.

In all, Domingo has been confirmed to appear in 17 European concerts or operas through November 2020, including a 50th anniversary concert at Milan's La Scala on Dec. 15 and four appearances at the Vienna State Opera House - three operas and a youth gala concert.

And the Teatro Real in his native Madrid is sticking by him, reiterating an earlier statement that expressed no tolerance for violence against women and said such matters must be dealt with by a court.

The singer's hometown theater added, "We, as many people, think that Placido Domingo is an unquestionable artist with more than half a century of career as one of the most important voices in the lyrical genre."

Jamey Keaten contributed from Geneva, Switzerland and Aritz Parra from Madrid.

Next Article

EU announces 1 billion euros in aid for Lebanon amid a surge in irregular migration

2024-05-03 04:37 Last Updated At:04:40

BEIRUT (AP) — The European Union announced Thursday an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — much of which will go to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus and Italy.

The deal follows other EU aid packages for countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania to fortify their borders. It comes against a backdrop of increasing hostility toward Syrian refugees in Lebanon and a major surge in irregular migration of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Cyprus.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a Beirut visit with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the aid distribution will start this year and last till 2027.

The bulk of the aid — 736 million euros — would go to support Syrian refugees “and other vulnerable groups” in Lebanon, while 200 million euros are meant to bolster Lebanese security services in enforcing border and migration control, according to figures provided by the Cypriot government.

An unspecified amount would go to Lebanese fishermen, to discourage them from selling their boats to smugglers.

Von der Leyen said the EU will also work on a “more structured approach to voluntary return" of Syrian refugees "in close cooperation with” the U.N. refugee agency. The bloc will continue to maintain “legal pathways” for resettlement of refugees in Europe, she said.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati praised the package, saying that “Lebanon’s security is security for European countries and vice versa,” and that an escalation of the crisis ”will not be limited to Lebanon but will extend to Europe."

Lebanon, which has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis since 2019, hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands more who are unregistered, the world's highest refugee population per capita.

Lebanese political officials have for years urged the international community to resettle the refugees in other countries or assist their return to Syria — voluntarily or not. Lebanese security forces have stepped up deportations of Syrians over the past year.

Tensions further flared after an official with the Christian nationalist Lebanese Forces party, Pascal Suleiman, was killed last month in what military officials said was a botched carjacking by a Syrian gang. The incident prompted outbreaks of anti-Syrian violence by vigilante groups.

Meanwhile, Cypriot authorities complain the island nation has been overwhelmed by irregular migration of Syrian asylum seekers, many of them coming on boats from Lebanon.

The UNHCR in Lebanon said it had verified 59 “actual or attempted” departures by boats carrying a total of 3,191 passengers from Lebanon between January and mid-April, compared to three documented boat movements carrying 54 passengers in the same period last year. Usually, few boats attempt the much more dangerous crossing in the winter. In all of 2023, UNHCR recorded 65 boat departures carrying 3,927 passengers.

Cyprus has taken a new approach to halting the flow of migrants. Last month, it suspended processing of Syrian asylum applications, and human rights groups accused the Cypriot coast guard of forcibly turning back five boats carrying about 500 asylum seekers coming from Lebanon. Cypriot officials have denied this.

Bassel al-Shayoukh, a Syrian refugee from Idlib living in Lebanon since 2014, said his brother and several cousins and nephews were on one of the boats turned back. Now he wants to make the journey himself.

“In the beginning I thought that in a year or two the war would be over in Syria,” he said, but it dragged on, while in Lebanon “every year ... the situation began to get worse.”

Shayoukh said he fears being beaten by vigilantes or deported to Syria after Lebanese authorities declined to renew his residency permit.

His 17-year-old nephew, who declined to give his name fearing for his safety, said the Cypriot coast guard started making waves to push the boat he was on away. “I was terrified... I don’t know how to swim,” he said. “I thought we were going to die.”

The people on the boats “stayed three days without food or water” before turning back to Lebanon, the teen added.

Back in Lebanon, they were detained by the army; those registered with UNHCR were released and the others deported.

Mohammed Sablouh, a Lebanese human rights lawyer who works on refugee and migrant cases, says Lebanese authorities are deliberately “turning a blind eye" to the surge in migration to "pressure the international community.”

The Lebanese army did not respond to a request for comment on their measures to combat smuggling.

Thursday's aid announcement comes ahead of the annual fundraising conference for the Syrian crisis in Brussels later this month. After 13 years of civil war, donor fatigue has set in while the world’s attention is occupied by the humanitarian fallout of more recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

The Cypriot president said Thursday was a “historic day” and called for European officials to go farther and declare some areas of Syria safe for return.

“The current situation is not sustainable for Lebanon. It is not sustainable for Cyprus, it is not sustainable for the European Union,” Christodoulides said.

But not all Lebanese officials are convinced the European aid would solve the problem.

Lebanese Forces party head Samir Geagea told The Associated Press earlier this week that European authorities are mainly concerned “that the refugees don’t go to Europe."

"For us the problem is that we cannot have our country drowning in illegal Syrian refugees,” Geagea said, urging for Syrians to be sent back to either government or opposition-held areas of the neighboring country.

But Shayoukh says he has nowhere to go.

The Damascus government wants him for opposing Syrian President Bashar Assad, he said, while the Islamist group that now controls his hometown behaves "the same way as the regime’s intelligence services” in crushing dissidents.

Associated Press writer Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pose for photograph at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pose for photograph at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, right, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, right, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, center, review an honor guard upon their arrival to meet with the Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, center, review an honor guard upon their arrival to meet with the Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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