Posted on 09/27/2006 10:33:04 PM PDT by Stoat
Well, they got it buckets...and guess what...they did not have guts to see it through.
All very true, but I'm wondering if this was not the plan to begin with? Would it be possible that it was the intention to 'announce' the heavily-modified production in order to get lots of press and then to cancel it in a show of 'cultural sensitivity'....and then put on the 'real' opera, minus the heads, that they had wanted to produce all along anyway? (with sold-out shows as a bonus)
Do we know for sure that the fake severed heads had indeed been created and they actually had all of this in motion to actually put it forth? Had the actors done rehearsals for this particular version, or was this all just talk?
My question arises because I cannot conceive of anybody being so utterly, pathologically STUPID as to think that such an opera would NOT create a huge flap.
I can't imagine the opera's board of directors at their meeting, approving such an opera and greenlighting the production and having it move forward only to be cancelled some time later by someone who "just realized' that it 'might be a problem'.
I'm usually not one to embrace conspiracy theories and the like, but something smells fishy here.
If you were on the opera's board of directors, wouldn't you instantly realize that something of this nature would be highly inflammatory?
I'm no opera company director and I would have seen the problem instantly......I wouldn't set it in motion, oblivious of such an obvious fact.
I'm not so sure that this particular version has been. Binghamton Native advises us in post #3 that this version with the severed heads is completely different from Mozart's original, and I am beginning to think that the whole thing was an orchestrated (pardon my pun) publicity stunt.
Ultimately yes, but in the meantime there is opportunity for all sorts of idiocy....in the 1930's we had the Nazis and their book-burnings, and now we have the Islamofascists with their permanently-attached chips on their shoulders and hysterical, murderous demeanor. Mozart will survive, but our culture is under a massive assault that it will not survive without a dedicated resistance to Islamofascism.
I can not speak to the artistic merits of this particular production of Idoemeneo. It doesn't sound like my cup of tea either.
You should know that the addition of the heads of Buddha, Christ, Jesus and Mohammed was not done to cash in on the recent Mohammed cartoon controversy.
The production originally premiered in 2003 to "widespread criticism", was performed in the 2004-2005 season and it is just now in the 2006-2007 season that the issue about security is being raised.
It is the security issue that is in direct to the Mohammed cartoons.
This article gives more background.
Berlin Opera House Cancels Production
By MELISSA EDDY
AP
BERLIN (AP) - A leading opera house canceled a 3-year-old production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" that included a scene showing the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, unleashing a furious debate over free speech.
In a statement late Monday, the Deutsche Oper said it decided "with great regret" to cancel the production after Berlin security officials warned of an "incalculable risk" because of the scene.
After its premiere in 2003, the production by Hans Neuenfels drew widespread criticism over the scene in which King Idomeneo presents the severed heads not only of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, but also of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha. The disputed scene is not part of Mozart's original staging of the 225-year-old opera, but was an addition of Neuenfels' production, which was last performed by the company in March 2004."
http://news.aol.com/entertainment/articles/_a/berlin-opera-house-cancels-production/n20060926125209990005
PIMF darn it- should be: It is the security issue that is in direct RESPONSE to the Mohammed cartoons.
I don't care if the three severed heads were presented in 1985---it's tasteless, vile, and adds absolutely no artistic value to the production.
Stirring up controversy has its consequences and any fool should have known that and prepared to seen it through.
Thank you for letting me know what year it is.
You're welcome. I know how important those little details can be. :)
Have a GOOD day.
You too!
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