Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo axed from Royal Opera House for ‘on-stage grope’
A SUPERSTAR tenor who joked he was a sex addict has been axed from the Royal Opera - after being accused of groping a female singer on stage.
Italian opera singer Vittorio Grigolo, 42, was at the centre of an investigation after being reported for allegedly grabbing a female member of the chorus.
The alleged incident happened in front of the audience during the curtain call after he performed with London-based Royal Opera in Japan on Wednesday.
Grigolo - nicknamed Il Pavarottino after performing with Pavarotti aged 13 – was the star turn of a two-week tour of the country.
But he was dropped from the role and replaced by Georgy Vasiliev for the final performance in Yokohama on Sunday night.
The Royal Opera House have launched an investigation into the serious allegation and are talking to crew and staff over what they saw.
Grigolo has been suspended while they speak to eyewitnesses and those involved.
A source told The Sun “It happened in full view of the audience. Members of the chorus implored him to stop and Grigolo vehemently argued with them.
“They were horrified by what happened.”
Italian Grigolo, who joked to Vanity Fair in 2015 that ‘’I’m a sex addict”, was playing Faust during the fortnight tour of Japan.
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A spokesperson for the Royal Opera House confirmed it was investigating.
They said: “Following an alleged incident on September 18 involving Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo, the Royal Opera House opened an immediate investigation and Mr Grigolo was suspended.
“We are unable to comment further on this matter whilst this investigation is ongoing.”
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