In response to a recent article about the new staging of John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer in Florence, which noted that the work "has sparked accusations of antisemitism whenever and wherever it has been performed" and referenced protests against earlier productions, Tony Palmer, the director of the 2001 production at Finnish National Opera, offers a contrasting perspective.
A Successful Production Without Protests
Palmer describes his production as a "huge success," playing to capacity audiences over several weeks. No protests were anticipated, and none materialized. On the opening night, 3 February 2001, the chief rabbi of Finland sat alongside a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (which maintained an office in Helsinki), together with the recent president of Finland and later Nobel peace prize winner, Martti Ahtisaari.
Challenging the Narrative of Offence
Palmer argues that the report makes it seem as if the opera was designed to offend by default, but the opposite was true, and remains so. He highlights that the librettist, Alice Goodman, noted that the opening Chorus of Exiled Palestinians quotes the Lamentations of Jeremiah from the Old Testament—words originally sung by the Jews. "Let the supplanter look upon his work. Our faith will take the stones he broke, and break his teeth." In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations is sung by the Jews against the Babylonians; here, it is sung by the Palestinians against the Jews.
The Healing Power of Music
Given the current climate of antisemitism, Palmer recalls Ahtisaari's comment after the first night: "John Adams's masterpiece only serves to remind us, and especially the Palestinians and the Jews, of the healing power of music."
Additional Letters
Ron Kirchem from Paris, France, points out that the article omitted the 2003 production by the Narodni Divadlo (National Theatre) in Prague, which was the first English-language opera ever presented there. It was magnificent, though almost nobody attended.
Heather Parry from Watford, Hertfordshire, expresses disappointment that the 2012 production by English National Opera (now diminished by Arts Council cuts) was not mentioned, noting there was only one solitary protester and Andrew Clements gave it a four-star review.
