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5 things to expect at the opening of Metropolitan Opera’s The Death of Klinghoffer tonight

Written by
David Cote
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I love going to the Met whenever I can, seeing a fresh take on Figaro or a new American opera such as Two Boys. Tonight, however, I have a sinking feeling. I’m attending the opening night of composer John Adams and librettist Alice Goodman’s The Death of Klinghoffer; it’s not the opera I dread, but all the insanity now surrounding it.

Even folks who know niente about opera know about this: The piece dramatizes the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruse liner Achille Lauro by four members of the Palestine Liberation Front, which ended with the cold-blooded killing of Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old Jewish American confined to a wheelchair. Upon its opening in 1991, the opera was criticized by Klinghoffer’s daughters for dishonoring the memory of their father and moreover, it seemed to them to be anti-Semitic. Most opera commentators have not agreed, but the charge has dogged the work, and now as the Met opens its version (a coproduction with English National Opera), there have been fierce protests. Tonight will be an ugly night at the opera. If you’re heading out to see the controversial work, or just want to rubberneck at the collision of high art and populist outrage, here’s what may go down.

Verbal abuse by Rudy Guiliani and George Pataki. The ex-mayor of New York City and ex-governor of the state have declared they will lead the protesters bellowing outrage and shaming spectators heading to the Met. Maybe you can return the favor and tell the gentlemen what you thought of their performances in the '90s.

Extra security in the lobby. It would be height of irony if some unhinged loonie tried something violent at an opera about the horror and futility of terrorism. So get ready for airport-levels of patting and bag-checking.

Hecklers at curtain. If you actually do get to your seat in one piece, it’s going to be very tense in the room until the overture’s over. Someone in the mezzanine or balcony—maybe even the orchestra—is bound to jump up and shriek, “Shame on you!” Of course, they won’t bother to stay for the rest of the performance; that might interfere with the judgment already formed in their heads. 

Notable absence of bravos and tentative ovation. The audience will be so freaked out and self-doubting by the final aria, it’s unlikely to band together to celebrate artists rising above exceedingly stressful conditions. Backlash and second-guessing are bound to override dispassionate aesthetic appreciation: All that craziness—for this?!? (Hope I’m wrong.)

Exceedingly cautious reviews. Even if critics are ecstatic about the return of a major American opera, they’re duty-bound to report on all the theater that took place around it: the protests, disruptions, etc. And of course, there’s a chance that perfectly intelligent commentators will find something morally objectionable about the treatment of the material. But even if a music critic pans The Death of Klinghoffer on musical or ethical grounds, I doubt they’d call for it to be abolished.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about and decide for yourself, go here for the Met's $25 Rush Tickets.

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