A Famed Conductor & An American Ballet Theater Dancer Are Latest To Face Sexual Misconduct Allegations
World-renowned conductor Charles Dutoit and ballet dancer Marcelo Gomes, who’s among the planet’s most famous in his field, lost gigs today after being caught up in the ever-widening sexual misconduct scandals.
Multiple orchestras have cut ties with Dutoit, artistic director and principal conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a widely traveled guest conductor. Three opera singers and a classical musician told the Associated Press that Dutoit sexually assaulted them on the sidelines of rehearsals and performances in five U.S. cities between 1985 and 2010. The four women told the AP that he physically restrained them, would put his tongue in their mouths and in one case put a woman’s hand down his pants.
That was enough for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony to sever ties with the Swiss maestro, citing the seriousness of the allegations. Dutoit had been a guest conductor in Boston since 1981 and was set to lead concerts for the New York and San Francisco next month and in April, respectively, the AP said. He withdrew from the NYC performances on his own.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that Gomes resigned from the American Ballet Theater — where he was a principal dancer — over unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Last Saturday, ABT was made aware of a highly concerning allegation of sexual misconduct by Mr. Gomes, occurring approximately eight years ago,” Andrew Barth, chairman of the company’s board of trustees, told the Times in a statement. “ABT took immediate action and initiated an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel L.L.P. Amid the investigation, Mr. Gomes put forth his resignation.”
Neither the ballet company nor the law firm gave details about the accusations against the Brazil-born dancer, who had been with ABT for 20 years.
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