The Death of Klinghoffer and the healing power of music | Letters

Letters: Responding to an article about a new staging of the controversial opera, Tony Palmer recalls an opening night that brought together Finland’s chief rabbi and a Palestinian official. Plus, letters by Ron Kirchem and Heather Parry

Your article on the current production of John Adams’s opera The Death of Klinghoffer in Florence says the opera “has sparked accusations of antisemitism whenever and wherever it has been performed”, and refers to protests against previous productions (‘They said: You’re out of your mind’: Luca Guadagnino on directing controversial opera The Death of Klinghoffer, 19 April).

I directed the 2001 production at Finnish National Opera, which was a huge success, playing to capacity houses over several weeks. No protests were anticipated and none happened. Indeed, on the opening night, 3 February 2001, the chief rabbi of Finland sat next to the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (which had an office in Helsinki), together with the recent president of Finland and later winner of the Nobel peace prize, Martti Ahtisaari.

Your report makes it sound as if the work was calculated to offend by default. The reverse was true, and remains so.

As the opera’s librettist, Alice Goodman, told me, the opening Chorus of Exiled Palestinians is actually quoting the Lamentations of Jeremiah from the Old Testament, words that had been 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.

In view of the pervading present-day atmosphere of antisemitism, what Mr Ahtisaari told me after the first night seems ever more relevant. “John Adams’s masterpiece only serves to remind us, and especially the Palestinians and the Jews, of the healing power of music.”
Tony Palmer
London

• In your otherwise excellent article on the revival of John Adams’ masterpiece, The Death of Klinghoffer, you neglected to mention the wonderful production by the Narodni Divadlo (National Theatre) in Prague in 2003 – I attended every performance. It was the first English-language opera ever presented by the Narodni Divadlo, and it was magnificent in every way, though almost nobody came to see it.
Ron Kirchem
Paris, France

• What a pity you did not mention the 2012 production by English National Opera (now mutilated by the Arts Council and a shadow of its former self), where there was one solitary protester and Andrew Clements gave a four-star review.
Heather Parry
Watford, Herfordshire