On Forbes: The Met's Klinghoffer Brouhaha

“The verdict was in, right after the premiere: The Death of Klinghoffer, John Adams’ opera that was performed at the MET to vociferous and heated, if small, protests (amply supplemented by local politicians) on October 20, is not an anti-semitic work.

Not a particularly surprising verdict, actually—that much was known already and we needn’t feign surprise now. This alleged anti-semitism had been a non-issue when it was first performed in Brussels (in 1991). Nor had it been an issue on the subsequent performances in New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music, also 1991), or Philadelphia (Curtis, 2005), or this very production’s earlier performance in London (English National Opera, early 2012). The only story in the Klinghoffer-controversy is that it became a story at all...

Continue reading here, at Forbes.com