The Death of Klinghoffer opens tonight....

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 9:47am

I'll be there, orch Row Y. Anyone else attending?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 9:55am

Very curious to hear what you think.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:02am

I'm very sorry they decided to cancel the HD screenings in cinemas for this production. I'd love to get another look at it, and can't cough up the money to go to the Met right now and get a decent seat.

I remember the original Sellars production, all those years ago at BAM, very powerful and thought-provoking.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:22am

Break a le... oh.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:30am

Ha. :P

I'm very curious too, PalJoey. And eager to form my own opinion of it.

FYI - There are $80 orchestra seats. Still pricey, I know, but a far more attainable goal...

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:34am

I'll be there as well...I've been looking forward to this production for quite awhile. For any one interested, the Kent Nagano recording is on Spotify and it's very impressive.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:35am

I have tickets to the final performance (the aborted simulcast).

[Kad]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:43am

A large group was protesting it when I attended the season's opening performance of Marriage of Figaro... I imagine tonight, it'll be larger.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:47am

Just out of curiosity, Kad: where was the protest area set up?

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 11:00am

I walked by there (I live nearby and was just passing). There is no designated area. People were lined up all along the front of the plaza, and I got rather swept up by them. They didn't win my favor by shouting at me as I just walked past (I wasn't even going inside-I just happened to be crossing the street there to head west).

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 11:47am

They were supposed to be on the other side of Columbus Avenue in Dante Park, but there were so many people that it eventually spilled over onto the sidewalk on the western side of Columbus.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 12:32pm

I'm hoping this doesn't happen...

http://www.nationalreview.com/david-calling/390690/mets-bad-taste-dressed-principle-david-pryce-jones

I've waited a long time to finally hear this music live, I would hate it if it were disrupted by some annoying jackasses. I have no doubt that the Met chorus and orchestra will really do a fantastic job this evening.

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 12:59pm

All I can say is where were all these people last year with the homophobic nonsense the Met allowed to happen?

Also, how many of these people read and understood the libretto and music? Just saying...

I will be attending and no one will stop me from exercising my first amendment right.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:02pm

I'm now even more excited to see this...


The Death of Klinghoffer: Official Met Trailer

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:05pm

Dreaming, I'm wondering what the Met protests have to do with your 1st Amendment rights? Is the government getting involved?

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:07pm

I'm going tonight, it should be interesting.

Anyone want to meet up for a drink at intermission?

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:10pm

Phantom-they have all but pressured the Met to cancel the entire production. (I have a sinking feeling that after tonight the rest of the run may be canceled. I sure hope not. But, just so you know, some Republican dignitaries, including former Gov. Pataki and Mayor Guiliani (Sir Rudy) will be joining the protest this evening). I feel it's my right to go and see it (which they are trying their darndest to take away).

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:13pm

Not sure you have a Constitutional right to see it, though...

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:14pm

Well right to see it meaning if I pay, I should not be kept from seeing it by people outside. They were bullies the night I merely walked by.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:14pm

Isn't the phrase "Republican dignitaries" an oxymoron?

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:15pm

I was trying to be nice. The fact is they have clout.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:17pm

"if I pay, I should not be kept from seeing it by people outside. They were bullies the night I merely walked by."

Well, they are protesting the show, so making a ruckus is kind of the point. And that actually is their first amendment right. The odds of them preventing people from entering is probably zero. It's not like the NYPD has no idea this is happening.

Now, a few people buying tickets to protest inside? That could happen.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:18pm

If the Met censors a show or cancels a show, whether its because of protests or not, that has nothing to do with the 1st amendment or your 1st amendment rights.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:24pm

I will be there tonight as well. Can't wait to experience this.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 1:24pm

The first amendment has nothing to do with this situation. You should read the Bill of Rights before bandying its amendments about.

Unfortunately, most of the protesters proudly assert that they have NOT read the libretto or seen the opera. Nevertheless, the Met's production and the presence of the protesters has actually started a conversation among Jews who champion the arts that is well worth having.

There's an interesting--and appropriately anguished--defense of the opera in the Jewish Forward (of all places!), by novelist Adam Langer:


FORWARD: The Resurrection of 'Klinghoffer' Metropolitan Opera Revives Revered and Reviled Work and Ignites New Culture War By Adam Langer