Standing ovation for Met ‘Klinghoffer’ despite protest
Opening night’s performance interrupted with boos, shouts; NY mayor says rights of cultural institutions must be respected
Politicians including former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani joined a crowd of demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Opera on Monday as part of an ongoing protest over an opera focused on the death of a Jewish man that critics say glorifies his Palestinian killers.
Demonstrators, primarily associated with Jewish groups, rallied outside Lincoln Center with 100 wheelchairs, in honor of the slain handicapped Leon Klinghoffer, on whom “The Death of Klinghoffer” is based.
About 400 people stood behind barricades Monday, chanting “Shame on the Met.”
Klinghoffer was hurled from the Achille Lauro cruise ship by PLO terrorists in 1985 after it was hijacked. The opera, which centers on the terrorists who perpetrated the murder, has been accused of glorifying terrorism and incorporating anti-Semitic tropes.
Giuliani, standing across the street from Lincoln Center on Monday, said he wanted to warn people the Klinghoffer opera “is a distorted work.”
“If you listen, you will see that the emotional context of the opera truly romanticizes the terrorists,” he said.
But opera expert Fred Plotkin said Adams depicts the Klinghoffers as his work’s moral spine.
“Does this opera present the killers in a favorable light? No,” Plotkin said. “Are the Klinghoffers far and away the most sympathetic characters in the opera, the ones we care about most? I believe so.”
Monday’s performance went on with a few orchestrated disruptions: Boos were shouted from scattered seats, and a voice yelled from a balcony, “The murder of Klinghoffer will never be forgotten!” It ended with a standing ovation.
Hecklers disrupt first act of Klinghoffer. Several shouts followed by applause, boos, shushes.
— Brian Wise (@briancwise) October 21, 2014
https://twitter.com/meslackman/status/524355131551522818
Monday’s was the first of eight performances and the Met has vowed to go ahead with the production, calling it a legitimate piece of art, though the protests have had their effect.
The Met canceled the international movie theater and radio broadcasts in November amid pressure from Jewish groups, especially the New York-based Anti-Defamation League. Met general manager Peter Gelb, who’s Jewish, said the decision was made “as a compromise gesture.”
But the Met issued a statement saying “the fact that ‘Klinghoffer’ grapples with the complexities of an unconscionable real-life act of violence does not mean it should not be performed. … ‘Klinghoffer’ is neither anti-Semitic nor does it glorify terrorism.”
The company also agreed to include a note in the program from Klinghoffer’s daughters denouncing the opera.
It says they believe the arts “can play a critical role in examining and understanding significant world events. ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ does no such thing. It presents false moral equivalencies without context, and offers no real insight into the historical reality and the senseless murder of an American Jew.”
Earlier in the day, a rabbi led Jewish teens in a prayer vigil. Youths sat at their makeshift prayer spot opposite the Met, discussing Hebrew scriptures throughout the afternoon.
“We’re here because the Met is glorifying the killing of a Jew, and we must speak out — we’re the next generation,” 15-year-old Shabbos Kestenbaum said.
Rabbi Avi Weiss said the opera’s music “extols” the terrorists, beginning with the “Chorus of Exiled Palestinians,” while the Klinghoffers come off as shallow, money-conscious characters whose first words are, “I’ve got no money left. I gave all my money for the taxi.”
“The language is explosive. It’s radioactive. It’s dangerous,” the rabbi said. “It inspires violence.”
In anticipation of the rally, there was a “heavy police presence” at Monday night’s opening, the New York Post reported, citing police sources.
Rudolph Giuliani denounces "The Death of Klinghoffer" (Photo: Hiroko Masuike/NYT) http://t.co/VXQsvZynfa pic.twitter.com/CfD9YJhgH0
— New York Times Arts (@nytimesarts) October 20, 2014
“It’s been a steady diet of e-mails, phone calls and letters for a couple of months now,” Met director Peter Gelb told the Sunday Times. “The people who don’t want this opera to be performed are not silly; they are very angry.”
The rally was organized by some 50 Jewish and Catholic groups, including the Zionist Organization of America, One Israel Fund, One Family Fund, Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Catholic League.
On Sunday, Klinghoffer’s two daughters released a statement condemning the opera, which will also be enclosed in the opera playbill.
The show recounting the murder of their father “rationalizes, romanticizes and legitimizes” the killing, Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer wrote.
“The terrorists, portrayed by four distinguished opera singers, will be given a back story, an ‘explanation’ for their brutal act of terror and violence,” they wrote. “We are strong supporters of the arts, and believe that theater and music can play a critical role in examining and understanding significant world events. The Death of Klinghoffer does no such thing. It presents false moral equivalencies without context, and offers no real insight into the historical reality and the senseless murder of an American Jew. It rationalizes, romanticizes and legitimizes the terrorist murder of our father.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who hasn’t seen the opera, said the rights of cultural institutions to put on works of art have to be respected.
“We don’t have to agree with what’s in the exhibit, but we agree with the right of the artist and the cultural institution to put that forward to the public,” he said.
De Blasio added anti-Semitism “is a serious problem today in the world that has nothing to do with this opera.”
“Klinghoffer” has provoked controversy from the time of its premiere in 1991 in Brussels, Belgium. Some later productions were canceled and others were picketed, though the Met clearly hoped that after 23 years the furor had died down.
Last month, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Met on its Opening Night Gala chanting “Shame on the Met!” and “Say no to the show!” in protest of the Met’s decision to produce the opera.
“The Death of Klinghoffer” runs through Nov. 15.
JTA contributed to this report.
