| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Berlin To Stage Controversial Opera |
| 2006-12-12 |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #4 It is not exactly fighting with Islamists - more like daring them to fight with you. Sort of like the 'Piss Christ' exhibit of 'art' some years back in the US. Of no particular importance one way or another, except if it identifies some specific enemies. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-12-12 19:13 |
| #3 They are German theater people. They see little point in doing something unless it can be turned into edgy performance art, with which they can damn the audience for being bourgeous Philistines... cubed for the Berlin theatricalistas, who used to get subsidized just for living on the edge of the abyss. Interesting how this brought to the attention of the theater-going class exactly how dangerous keeping pet Muslim radicals is. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-12-12 14:17 |
| #2 This has an artificial, staged feel to it. I've only seen Idomeneo performed live once, and I don't recall seeing anyone's heads stacked up, much less Mohammad's. Idomeneo was the king of Crete, returning victorious from the Trojan war -- which predated Mo by several years. I guess this is one of the hazards of turning a perfectly good opera into "edgy performance art." There are lots of valid reasons to fight with Islamists. This isn't one of them. |
| Posted by: Fred 2006-12-12 13:00 |
| #1 Good. According to the article, the outcry caused them to grow a backbone -- this is that opera staged with the severed heads of Jesus and Mohammed that was cancelled in September out of fear that Muslims might take offense... violently. It opens in a week, and a goodly number of the ruling Conservatives will be sitting in the audience. When the manager called the police to ask what they should do if a bomb threat were called in, he was told to ask the caller what it looked like and where it was placed. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-12-12 09:34 |