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OPERA

Spain’s Placido Domingo given standing ovation in Salzburg in first performance since sexual harassment claims

Opera legend Placido Domingo on Sunday received a standing ovation at the Salzburg Festival, his first performance since he was accused of sexually harassing women.

Spain's Placido Domingo given standing ovation in Salzburg in first performance since sexual harassment  claims
Placido Domingo seen on stage during the performance of "Luisa Miller" at the Salzburg Festival, on August 25th. Photo: AFP

“Triumph in Salzburg, standing ovation for Domingo despite the Me Too affair,” a headline in the regional daily Kleine Zeitung said, following his performance in the Giuseppe Verdi opera “Luisa Miller” at the annual music and drama festival in Austria.  

Eight singers and a dancer told the Associated Press earlier this month they were sexually harassed by the former member of the much lauded “Three Tenors”, in incidents going back to the 1980s.

In a report by the AP, several women, one of whom was identified, accused Domingo of using his position as one of opera's most celebrated singers to pressure them into sexual relationships.

The Los Angeles Opera has opened an investigation into the “concerning allegations”.   

Following the claims, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association withdrew its invitation for Domingo to appear in its opening night concert on September 18th.   

However, the head of the Salzburg Festival in Austria said Domingo would perform there as planned.

Madrid-born Domingo was one of the most recognised tenors of the 20th century, starring in alongside famous tenors Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras.   

In recent years the long-time married opera star has transformed himself into a baritone and still performs to packed audiences at the age of 78.   

He has made more than 100 albums and picked up 14 Grammy awards. Earlier this year, he celebrated his 4,000th performance in a career that stretches back 60 years.

READ MORE: Spanish opera community jumps to Placido Domingo's defence in sexual harassment allegations

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METOO

‘When I said no’: Danish women in campaign against sexual assault victim blaming

Women in Denmark have joined a social media movement responding to victim blaming of women who have suffered sexual violence and harassment.

'When I said no': Danish women in campaign against sexual assault victim blaming
Illustration file photo: Issei Kato/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpi

Using the hashtag #dajegsagdefra, which translates loosely to ‘when I said no’, women have described assault, attacks, violence, harassment and humiliation against them which occurred or continued after they rejected the advances of an attacker.

The hashtag began to trend in response to social media comments suggesting women can avoid being assaulted simply by firmly ‘saying no’ (ved at sige fra). Such comments have been criticised as an attempt to place responsibility for sexual assault, violence and harassment with victims.

The discussion is linked to Denmark’s #MeToo debate, which remains a prominent issue in the country after thousands of women shared stories of sexual harassment in late 2020.

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 In the hashtagged tweets, the women describe situations of sexual assault or harassment which escalated after they told the aggressor to stop.

Kirstine Holst, the chairperson of support organisation Voldtægtsofres Vilkår, is among those to have shared personal accounts.

“When I said no I was held by the throat and raped”, Holst’s tweet reads.

https://twitter.com/Kirstineholst/status/1417122432557719553

Another voice in the Danish debate, Khaterah Parwani, is also among those to have tweeted using the hashtag.

Parwani is director of Løft, an organisation which works against negative social control.

She described several incidents in which she was subjected to violence and abuse after saying no to an aggressor, including being “unrecognisable at hospital” after an attack and “beaten up in a car and lying bleeding on a wet pavement”.

A number of Twitter uses in Denmark also highlighted on Tuesday a report issued by police in North Zealand of an incident in which a 22-year-old man punched and kicked a 15-year-old girl after she asked him to stop whistling at her and friends, and told him her age.

That incident occurred in the town of Espergærde.

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