The Magic Fluteon display at the Opéra Bastille in November, no longer includes children from this choir in its cast. A decision taken following the investigation opened against the director of the institution, accused of moral and sexual harassment by five women.
The Paris Opera “suspended its partnership with the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine”he announced on Friday, while an investigation was opened against his director following complaints of sexual and moral harassment and sexual assault.
The Paris Opera “has suspended its partnership with the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine while awaiting feedback from the audits and collections of testimonies that the Maîtrise has undertaken”declared the institution, questioned by AFP. The director of the Master’s degree, Gaël Darchen, 54, is the target of five complaints, filed by five women, for sexual and moral harassment, and sexual assault for one of them. Charges that he disputes. An investigation was opened and entrusted to the Brigade for the Repression of Personal Delinquency (BRDP), according to the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office.
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Created in 1985, supported by the department, the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine (650 singers aged 5 to 30, divided into 12 ensembles) was the children’s choir of the Paris National Opera since 1995. Consequence: l ‘opera The Magic Fluteon display at the Opéra Bastille in November, no longer includes, in its cast, children from this choir, but children from the German ensemble Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw, according to the press kit sent to AFP . The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (TCE), for its part, is hosting two productions this season (Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Knight of the Rose) in which the choir of young adults “Unikanti” usually conducted by Gaël Darchen participates: the TCE indicated to AFP that it was maintaining its collaboration with the choir to mark its “his support”but, this, “without the presence” of his leader within the theater.
According to Radio France and The Chained Duckwho had revealed the facts, the women accusing the director of the master’s degree were all adults at the time of the facts denounced. They reported around twenty testimonies, notably from former Master’s students, included in the file. Contacted by AFP, the Master’s Office detailed that it had implemented “several actions since July”: “withdrawal of the director of the Master’s degree”, “launch of an internal audit”, “information on the existence of a listening cell”.
She further stated “maintain relationships of trust with all of its artistic, institutional and financial partners associated with the actions implemented” and assured that “the masters are fully involved in the preparation of future shows which will take place from the end of November, regardless of the partner”.
