New York's Metropolitan Opera have cancelled an international simulcast of John Adams' opera The Death of Klinghoffer due to "an outpouring of concern" that it "might be used to fan global anti-semitism".

The Death of Klinghoffer is a coproduction between the Met and English National Opera; Tom Morris's production opened first in London in 2012, with eight performances scheduled in Manhattan from October. As with many other Met productions, opera bosses scheduled a live HD broadcast to 2,000 cinemas around the world; that event, planned for 15 November, has now been axed.



"I'm convinced that the opera is not anti-semitic," said Peter Gelb, general manager for the Met, "but I've also become convinced that there is genuine concern in the international Jewish community that the live transmission of The Death of Klinghoffer would be inappropriate at this time of rising anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe."



Composed in 1991, The Death of Klinghoffer depicts the Palestine Liberation Front's 1985 hijack of an Italian cruise ship. One man was murdered in the stand-off with authorities: 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American tourist.



Ilsa and Lisa Klinghoffer, the victim's daughters, have accused Adams' opera of "perverting the terrorist murder of our father". "Its rationalisation of terrorism and false moral equivalencies provide no thoughtfulness or insight," they said in a statement issued by the Anti-Defamation League. "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."

Besides cancelling the simulcast, the Met have reportedly agreed to include a statement from Klinghoffer's daughters in the opera's printed program.

In his own statement, Adams argued that the Met's "regrettable" move promotes "the same kind of intolerance that the opera’s detractors claim to be preventing". "My opera accords great dignity to the memory of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer, and it roundly condemns his brutal murder," the composer wrote. "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."

Librettist Alice Goodman called the decision “wrong and contradictory” and admitted surprise “that the Met did not have a plan in place as to how it was going to address the controversy that this opera always brings with it.”

She questioned the reasons for cancelling the simulcast. “The whole idea of pogroms emerging from the simulcast of a modern opera is more than faintly absurd. I think it is very unfortunate. It seems to me ...a wrong and a contradictory reaction."



"There is nothing anti-semitic in Klinghoffer apart from one aria which is sung by an anti-semitic character and is clearly flagged as such. The simulcasts from the Met are watched and loved by all kinds of people who couldn’t possibly get to a live performance. The notion that this can be watched live [in New York] but not in a cinema is bizarre and foolish, and I regret it.”

English National Opera's Artistic Director John Berry, who co-produced the production and gave its premiere in February 2012 said: "We completely believe in this piece and the work of John Adams. I personally believe that it is not anti-Semitic and I hope that audiences seeing the work in New York later in the year will come to understand this for themselves and be moved by this exceptional opera. The work was warmly received in London and deemed a great success.”

See also

Alice Goodman: the furore that finished me

Martin Kettle talks to John Adams (2001 interview)



