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question everything

(47,264 posts)
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 09:10 PM Jun 2014

Is the opera "Death of Klinghoffer" anti semitic?

Leon Klinghoffer, of course, was murdered when Palestinian terrorist seized the ship Achille Lauro. But I don't know why it should be anti Israel and anti semitic. The Met is going to produce it next season.

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Is the opera "Death of Klinghoffer" anti semitic? (Original Post) question everything Jun 2014 OP
The Met cancels ‘Death of Klinghoffer’ simulcast to avoid fomenting anti-Semitic backlash question everything Jun 2014 #1
I read several stories about this cancellation. Behind the Aegis Jun 2014 #2
I love operas but... prefer to stay with the classics question everything Jun 2014 #3

question everything

(47,264 posts)
1. The Met cancels ‘Death of Klinghoffer’ simulcast to avoid fomenting anti-Semitic backlash
Wed Jun 18, 2014, 11:54 PM
Jun 2014

In the fall of 1985, Palestinian guerrilla leader Mohammed Abbas masterminded the brutal highjacking of an Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro. Abbas was not present, but for two days, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front held more than 400 passengers aboard the Achille Lauro hostage. A disabled Jewish American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot to death and dumped overboard with his wheelchair. His body later washed up on a Syrian beach, and the attack made international headlines.

The events inspired the 1991 docu-opera composed by John Adams and librettist Alice Goodman, which has been criticized as sympathetic to the Palestinian terrorists who overtook the ship. New York’s Metropolitan Opera will open “Klinghoffer” on Oct. 20, a new production first staged by the English National Opera in 2012, but it has nixed plans for an international high-definition cinema simulcast slated for Nov. 15, citing fears of fomenting anti-Semitism. The 2012 English production had one protester outside the theater; in the early 90?s, there were many more in San Francisco and enough in Los Angeles that the production was canceled. Under pressure from the Anti-Defamation League, the Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, elected to yank the broadcast, which normally goes to 2,000 movie theaters in 67 countries worldwide. It’s the first time the company has canceled a broadcast since it started offering them in 2006.

(snip)

“My opera accords great dignity to the memory of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer, and it roundly condemns his brutal murder,” Adams said in a statement to David Ng of the Los Angeles Times. “It acknowledges the dreams and the grievances of not only the Israeli but also the Palestinian people, and in no form condones or promotes violence, terrorism or anti-Semitism. The cancellation of the international telecast is a deeply regrettable decision and goes far beyond issues of ‘artistic freedom,’ and ends in promoting the same kind of intolerance that the opera’s detractors claim to be preventing.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/18/the-met-cancels-death-of-klinghoffer-simulcast-to-avoid-fomenting-anti-semitic-backlash/

Yeah, right. Gives equal treatment to terrorists and to a victim in a wheelchair.






Behind the Aegis

(53,823 posts)
2. I read several stories about this cancellation.
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 12:07 AM
Jun 2014

I have yet to find an outline of the opera. Of course, opera is of no interest to me as an art form, but it is to others. It is hard to make an educated remark without having at least something to reference. I am curious though how it's telecast cancellation is promoting intolerance. Of who or what?

question everything

(47,264 posts)
3. I love operas but... prefer to stay with the classics
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 10:54 AM
Jun 2014

in Italian, or French, or German.

Thus, I've stayed away from "Nixon in China" by the same author - John Adams - that has gained rave reviews.

From a music point of view, the opera did get high marks. But, as someone who did see it commented to me that it was painful to watch because it is in English. The anti-Israel "lyrics" come from the mouths of the singers performing the parts of the terrorists.

Someone else asked why it is called the "killing" and not the "murder" of Klinghoffer..



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