An up-and-coming baritone singer alleges he was drugged and violently raped in 2010 by two of opera/classical music’s shining stars, David Daniels and Scott Walters.
Daniels, 52, the most famous countertenor in the world, has been a favorite of the Metropolitan Opera, while his now-husband Walters, 36, is a respected conductor.
The couple is so highly regarded that they were married in 2014 by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Samuel Schultz claims that in 2010, the same couple drugged and raped him following a performance in Texas, leaving him unconscious. He claims that he awoke the next afternoon in a strange bed, disoriented, in pain and bleeding from the rectum.
Schultz, then a 23-year-old graduate student at Rice University, says he was frightened of repercussions and hid the alleged event for years. Emboldened by both the #MeToo movement and upon learning that Daniels had made tenure at the University of Michigan — where he’d be in close personal contact with young aspiring singers — Schultz filed a complaint with the U-M Police Department’s special victims unit in July. Authorities in Michigan, in turn, passed the complaint on to the Houston Police Department.
The investigation is active and no arrests have been made, Houston police said. They declined to provide any further details.
Schultz told the Daily News and wrote in his complaint that after meeting Daniels and Walters at a closing night party on May 14, 2010, for Houston Grand Opera’s run of “Xerxes,” starring Daniels, he was invited back to a corporate apartment where the couple was staying. Walters told him, Schultz says, to keep the invite a secret because the couple didn’t want to cause jealousy among those who weren’t invited.
Schultz, a marathon runner, said he doesn’t normally drink alcohol, but accepted a drink to not cause waves.
He says he only remembers taking a few sips of the drink at the couple’s apartment — and then he blacked out.
He says and wrote in his police complaint that he woke up the next afternoon, “in a bed alone, completely naked. I was sore and I didn’t know why. I made my way to the bathroom to figure out why I hurt. I was bleeding from my rectum. I became numb. I was paralyzed with fear. What had happened? How could I escape? How would I get out? Where were my clothes? I tiptoed out of the bedroom to discover that David and Scott were not there. When they came back from eating somewhere, I think they asked if I had a good time. … I remember David saying, ‘Don’t worry about the BB thing, I’m totally negative.’ BB in this case meant bareback, otherwise known as raping me without a condom.”
Schultz says he called a health center to make an appointment following the encounter, but, afraid to admit why he needed to see a doctor, was told he’d have to wait three weeks. By the time of the visit June 1, all evidence of the alleged rape was gone, but he wanted to make sure he was disease-free.
In the days following the alleged assault, he discussed his traumatic experience with Megan Gale, a friend who was then an employee in Rice University’s music department.
Gale recalled to The News that Schultz came to her in shock, saying that he was sure he’d been violated and drugged, and that he told her he’d woken naked and bleeding in a strange bed.
Gale says at the time she did not advise Schultz to go to police.
He also visited a therapist within a week of the alleged assault. The therapist — who was given permission by Schultz to speak to The News, but prefers not to be publicly identified — said Schultz shared “specific details” with her, and that the alleged incident greatly affected him.
“His emotional state, his psychological state of mind and functionality were markedly affected,” the therapist said. “He has proceeded over time to work very hard to address this abuse in an attempt to recover from the impact and has managed to turn this into a cause so that he’s not dragged into hell [by it].”
Schultz posted a heartfelt essay online in July about being raped, but did not identify Daniels or Walters at the time.
“I have been terrified to talk about this publicly. … There was a legitimate danger of always destroying my career by reporting someone else’s assault against me,” Schultz wrote in the essay. “Because of this, I have lived with the fear of exclusion and being silenced.”
The essay by Schultz — a former Senate page who has appeared with the Houston Grand Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Washington National Opera and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, as well as on the Grammy-winning recording of “Wozzeck” — was met with support from his followers, fans and friends.
“Thank you for your bravery in sharing your story,” one commenter wrote. “I’m so devastated and angry by what happened to you, but grateful you chose to stay positive … you are such a beacon of light and love in so many lives.”
Schultz admits that now telling his story publicly is “absolutely terrifying” and has caused his posttraumatic stress disorder to resurface.
The May 14, 2010, performance of “Xerxes” was the final show of the run at Houston Grand Opera featuring Daniels. Walters — Daniels’ then-boyfriend — posted numerous times on Twitter about spending time in Texas at the time of the alleged encounter.
Walters and Daniels both claimed Schultz’s accusations are false.
“I appreciate you reaching out to me,” Daniels told The News. “Other than I deny these allegations, I have nothing to say. They’re completely false.”
“I have no comment other than to deny the allegations,” Walters said. “They are false.”
On Wednesday, hours after The News broke the story of the rape accusation, the University of Michigan confirmed Daniels had taken a leave of absence from his teaching job.
University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen refused to say how many other complaints the college had received against the professor.
“We are aware of the allegations and are reviewing the situation,” she wrote in an email.
Perryn Leech, managing director of the Houston Grand Opera, issued a statement to The News after being informed of the accusations.
“We are deeply concerned to learn this news. It is very much in opposition to the professional environment we strive to provide,” Leech said in the statement. “We will cooperate with any law enforcement inquiries and launch our own investigation once we know the full range of the allegations.”
It is nearly impossible to overestimate Daniels’ power and fame among opera fans and aficionados. He has been the recipient of two of classical music’s most prestigious awards, Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year and the Richard Tucker Award.
Hailed as the first and only countertenor superstar in the world, The New York Times has called him a role model for young male singers. One review of his music stated, “To say that he is the most acclaimed countertenor of the day, perhaps the best ever, is to understate his achievement. He is simply a great singer.”
The Guardian wrote, “His tone has always appealed because of its warmth and beauty, more like a midscale female mezzo in quality than others of its type.”
Schultz believes the stigma of male sexual abuse has kept victims from coming forward.
“I think,” he said, “because it is so taboo, men are rarely taught that rape is a word that should be used to describe something that happens to them. They are rarely educated to the reality that the word applies also to them.”
A prominent opera manager and advocate for the #MeToo movement in classical music — who fears reprisals if he’s publicly identified — believes sexual abuse is the most open secret in classical music and involves some of the world’s most famous male opera singers, conductors and company directors.
The manager said there is “zero protection” in opera, including the lack of a strong union. He claims that opera companies get big donors to pony up hush money to save their reputations and bottom lines.
“It’s not about the victim, it’s about the star. And management is compliant,” said the manager, who was not speaking specifically about Schultz’s allegations. “The victims literally fear for their lives.”
Disgraced former Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine, who has been accused of sexual assault by seven men, is hardly the only huge name accused of using his star power in the classical music world to sexually overpower people. In fact, sexual misconduct has been an ugly, open secret that’s gone largely unchecked for decades, according to two industry insiders.
Schultz believes the threat of being blacklisted motivates many victims to stay quiet.
But after years of silence, he’s begun to use his voice — and he’s hopeful that the industry will take a more concerned effort to root out sexual abusers.
“Rape is a devastating reality for those who’ve experienced it,” Schultz added, “But it’s just an uncomfortable reality for those who only hear about it. I’ve come to realize though that it’s absolutely OK to acknowledge your own value even in this [tightly controlled opera] world.”
With Rocco Parascandola, Janon Fisher and Dan Good
