http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/arts/music/mets-death-of-klinghoffer-remains-a-lightning-rod-.html 2014-10-14 20:10:00 Met’s ‘Death of Klinghoffer’ Remains a Lightning Rod The Metropolitan Opera’s production of John Adams’s “The Death of Klinghoffer” could become its most controversial in more than a century. === One protester labeled the baritone a “fascist.” Another called for the set to be “burned to the ground.” Others hinted they would try to disrupt opening night. As the Metropolitan Opera prepares to stage John Adams’s critically acclaimed 1991 opera Many of the protesters, who want the Met to cancel “Klinghoffer,” have never seen the opera, which explores the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish passenger in a wheelchair who was killed during the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro by members of the Palestine Liberation Front. The work has long aroused passions, but it has also been performed without incident in recent years. But the opera’s arrival at the Met — at a moment when many Jews are anguished by Angry protesters gathered across from the Met on the opening night of the opera season last month; a pair of public talks with members of the “Klinghoffer” creative team were quietly called off; and Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said that he had received threats related to the production. He recently sent an email to the opera’s cast expressing regret that they had been subject to “Internet harassment” and defending the work from its critics, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times. Many Jewish leaders, including liberals and conservatives, are finding themselves drawn into the debate. The Met’s attempts to calm things by canceling a planned transmission of the opera to movie theaters around the world this fall accomplished little — and may have fueled more criticism. Now “Klinghoffer” threatens to become the Met’s most controversial company premiere since 1907, when Strauss’s “Salome” was deemed outrageous and banned for decades. The tone was set when angry protesters gathered outside the Met last month, and some described a work that bore little resemblance to the one being rehearsed inside the opera house. Some likened it to Nazi propaganda, others pointed to anti-Semitic lines sung by the hijackers to suggest the opera itself is anti-Semitic, and several described the work as a celebration of terrorism. Another protest is planned for Monday night. Alan Opie, the baritone singing the role of This month a pair of talks featuring members of the opera’s creative team — including one at the Guggenheim Museum — were canceled after some participants withdrew, citing scheduling conflicts; Met officials said security concerns may have played a role. In his recent email offering support to the opera’s cast, Mr. Gelb wrote that it was unfortunate “that there has been an attempt to bully the Met and its performers.” Mr. Gelb defended the work, and noted that it has been performed elsewhere without problems in recent years, including at the The swirl of protest was something that Mr. Gelb had sought to head off. The Met The decision satisfied few. Some saw the Met as caving in to pressure, while others asked why, if an opera should not be shown abroad, it should be shown at home. Abraham H. Foxman, the league’s national director, said he thought it was a reasonable compromise. “I don’t think that the Met or Peter Gelb are the enemy of the Jewish people,” he said. “At worst, it’s a question of disagreement on judgment.” Mr. Foxman said he had received “hateful emails” from both sides, including one labeling him a “kapo,” a bitter insult referring to a Jewish inmate who oversaw others at Nazi concentration camps, and others painting him as an enemy of free speech. The opera has aroused debate since its premiere. Many critics consider it among the best works of Mr. Adams, one of America’s leading composers. Anthony Tommasini, the chief classical music critic of The New York Times, But it has vocal detractors as well. Some object to its subject matter, and the way it portrayed a painful event so soon after it happened. Others view its efforts to examine the motivations of the hijackers, and give voice to the grievances of Palestinians, as attempts to justify their actions. The daughters of the Klinghoffers, Lisa and Ilsa, have long been troubled by the work. “It rationalizes, romanticizes, and legitimizes the terrorist murder of our father,” they wrote in a note that the Met plans to include in its program. The Met production’s director, Tom Morris — who shared a Tony Award in 2011 for his work on “War Horse” — said that while the opera dramatizes terrorism, it does not endorse it any more than Verdi’s “Macbeth” endorses killing kings. “The extraordinary strength of that opera, and the play that it’s based on, is that it does allow some sort of insight into the mind of someone who might do that,” he said. Some have cited anti-Semitic lines sung by the hijackers to suggest that the Adams opera is anti-Semitic. Mr. Opie, the baritone, said that those critics never take into account the tragic portrayal of the Klinghoffers, or the way his character bravely confronts the hijackers from his wheelchair. “They just hang onto what the terrorists say,” he said, “which is not necessarily the view of the opera.” The vocabulary of the Israeli-Palestinian debate is clashing with the vocabulary of opera and drama. Some opponents ask why it is called “The Death of Klinghoffer,” and not “The Murder of Klinghoffer,” which would stress the brutality of the crime at its center. The director Peter Sellars, who came up with the idea of the opera, said the title was meant to place it within the long tradition of dramas named for the deaths of their protagonists. “There are a series of really powerful dramatic works with that title,” Mr. Sellars said in an interview, noting that he had been thinking of plays like Georg Büchner’s “Dantons Tod” (“Danton’s Death”) and others. “It’s part of dramatic history.” Last month’s protest was spearheaded by smaller Jewish groups and conservative religious organizations, and drew several current and former elected officials. One speaker was Laurie Cardoza-Moore, who leads a pro-Israel Christian group and who became known for “Peter Gelb, before we are finished, we are going to be back here, everyone here and many, many more, every night of the ‘Klinghoffer’ opera until the set is burned to the ground,” Mr. Wiesenfeld said at the rally. “You spent millions of dollars on that set to promote an opera which celebrates terrorists and celebrates anti-Semitism. You will be made to destroy that set!” Leaders of the more liberal Reform Judaism movement recently condemned the opera, but did not call for its cancellation. “Even as we raise our voices to protest this opera, we call on others who will join us to do so peacefully and with civility, lest the attention be diverted from the problematic nature of the opera,” said a letter signed by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Richard A. Block, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. At the rally, some protesters held signs asking, “Gelb Are You Taking Terror $$$?” and noted that the production was being paid for by a “gift of two anonymous donors.” Mr. Gelb called the suggestion “completely false” and said that the production’s underwriters were Americans who support contemporary music and Mr. Adams. A look at the Met’s website suggested that ticket sales for “Klinghoffer” have been sluggish, but it is unclear what role the protests have played. The company’s latest marketing campaign seeks to turn the controversy to its advantage. Its tagline runs: “See it. Then decide.”