Comment: The accusations go back years – so why has the opera world rallied round Plácido Domingo?

Opera houses might have turned a blind eye to sexually predatory behaviour in the past, but no-one should be above the law

Nearly 30 years ago, a famous soprano told me privately that Plácido Domingo was “a bit of a groper”. She herself had been the object of the tenor’s unwanted sexual attentions during a car journey, she told me. Unwanted but not, it seems, unwonted. In the world of opera, she added, Domingo’s habit was well-known and not unique.

The soprano was a woman who could take care of herself. She told me about Domingo almost in passing and certainly not for quotation or because she thought the story should become public. It was private information. I have never written anything about it until now. But times have changed, and rightly so. Whether the opera world has changed with it is another question.

Related: Yes, classical music has a harassment problem – and now's the time for change

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