LOS ANGELES – Placido Domingo has resigned as General Director of the Los Angeles Opera amid sexual harassment allegations, saying it was "in the best interests of LA Opera" for him to resign.

Domingo, who faces allegations from as many as 20 different women, issued the following statement:

"I hold the Los Angeles Opera very dearly to my heart and count my work to create and build it as among my most important legacies. However, recent accusations that have been against me in the press have created an atmosphere in which my ability to serve this Company that I so love has been compromised.

While I will continue to work to clear my name, I have decided that it is in the best interests of LA Opera for me to resign as General Director and withdraw from my future scheduled performances at this time.

I do so with a heavy heart and at the same time wish to convey to the company's dedicated board and hard-working staff my deepest wishes that LA Opera continues to grow and excel."

The veteran opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator assumed the post of General Director in 2003.

In a statement from the Executive Committee of the LA Opera Board of Directors, Domingo was praised for making "contributions to the cultural life of Los Angeles that have been unprecedented and profound."

The statement went on to say that Domingo, 78, "is not only an outstandingly talented artist, but also the driving force behind the creation, development and growth of LA Opera."

Domingo emerged as a force on the opera scene in the early 1960s and has carved out an iconic career that spanned over six decades.

However, in recent years he has been dogged by a series of sexual harrassment allegations, some dating as far back as the 1980s, that earlier this year, led the Metropolitan Opera in New York to severe its relationship with the star.