German opera decapitates Muhammad. Art beats hypocrits
Police on alert for controversial staging of Mozart's "Idomeneo"
BERLIN: Audience members at Monday's Deutsche Oper production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" will be kindly asked to empty their pockets of all metal objects. And they should be prepared to leave — quickly — in case of a bomb alert.
Fears of a Muslim backlash over a scene featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad have prompted security precautions more suited to the airport than the opera.
Mozart, born 250 years ago, was noted for an impish sense of humor, and some directors take huge liberties with their interpretations of operas. But the security measures for the performance are not part of the plot — and no Mozart Year joke.
It's a case of art meeting religious sensibility — and a decision that the show must go on, despite concerns that the production could prompt violence.
Mozart might wonder what the heads of Islam's founder, along with those of Jesus, Buddha and the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon, are doing in his opera. They are the brainchild of director Hans Neuenfels, whose production premiered three years ago. While some critics found the twist trite back then, it aroused little attention outside the opera world.
But that was before a Danish newspaper cartoon of Muhammad led to Muslim riots worldwide — and before comments by German-born Pope Benedict XVI further inflamed sensibilities in the Islamic world, just as the Neuenfels production was to be revived.
Such fears initially led the opera house to cancel revival plans. Opera manager Kirsten Harms said in September that her decision was prompted by the advice of Berlin police and she invoked the "consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures."
But a city proud of its openness, tolerance and artistic verve was aghast.
Some Muslim leaders praised the decision, but even Kenan Kolat, the leader of Germany's Turkish community, equated it with a step "back in the Middle Ages." Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship out of fear," and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble — in charge of police — described it as "crazy."
So the show is back. But it comes with safeguards that for some will make the experience more like clearing airport security than a night at the opera.
Staff are setting up electronic scanner gates at entrances, said opera spokesman Alexander Busche. A memo from Berlin police tells employees what to do in case of a bomb threat, and officers will be present in force — although low-key, so as not to intrude on what all hope will be nothing more than a musical and visual experience.
"We are ready for any eventuality," said police spokesman Berhard Schodrowski.
Kolat, head of Germany's Turkish community, has said he plans to attend, as has Schaeuble, the interior minister. Still Ali Kizilkaya, head of Germany's Islamic Council, whose presence would have done much to defuse potential tensions, will not be there.
Instead of an opera where Muhammad and Christ are beheaded, "I ... would hope for a debate in society about whether everything should be allowed for the sake of art," he said, in indirect criticism of the decision to stage the production.
Another German Muslim leader, Aiman Mazyek, also said he would not attend, saying the purpose of opera was "not to mix religion, art and politics."
Also missing will be director Neuenfels, creator of the heads-scene and a talented but notorious "Problemkind" — problem-child — of the German cultural scene.
Neuenfels has harshly criticized the present Deutsche Oper management's revivals of his productions. He has insisted his staging not be altered, saying the scene where the king of Crete presents the severed heads represents his protest against "any form of organized religion or its founders."
The controversy has focused international interest on the production — a potentially welcome development for a house that competes for audience against two other opera companies in the German capital and is usually is no more than two-thirds full.
But tickets were still available just a few days before the performance.
"This is one of Mozart's less-known operas," said Busche of the relative lack of interest. As for the controversy around the severed heads, Berliners "are just not so into sensationalism."
BERLIN: Audience members at Monday's Deutsche Oper production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" will be kindly asked to empty their pockets of all metal objects. And they should be prepared to leave — quickly — in case of a bomb alert.
Fears of a Muslim backlash over a scene featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad have prompted security precautions more suited to the airport than the opera.
Mozart, born 250 years ago, was noted for an impish sense of humor, and some directors take huge liberties with their interpretations of operas. But the security measures for the performance are not part of the plot — and no Mozart Year joke.
It's a case of art meeting religious sensibility — and a decision that the show must go on, despite concerns that the production could prompt violence.
Mozart might wonder what the heads of Islam's founder, along with those of Jesus, Buddha and the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon, are doing in his opera. They are the brainchild of director Hans Neuenfels, whose production premiered three years ago. While some critics found the twist trite back then, it aroused little attention outside the opera world.
But that was before a Danish newspaper cartoon of Muhammad led to Muslim riots worldwide — and before comments by German-born Pope Benedict XVI further inflamed sensibilities in the Islamic world, just as the Neuenfels production was to be revived.
Such fears initially led the opera house to cancel revival plans. Opera manager Kirsten Harms said in September that her decision was prompted by the advice of Berlin police and she invoked the "consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures."
But a city proud of its openness, tolerance and artistic verve was aghast.
Some Muslim leaders praised the decision, but even Kenan Kolat, the leader of Germany's Turkish community, equated it with a step "back in the Middle Ages." Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship out of fear," and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble — in charge of police — described it as "crazy."
So the show is back. But it comes with safeguards that for some will make the experience more like clearing airport security than a night at the opera.
Staff are setting up electronic scanner gates at entrances, said opera spokesman Alexander Busche. A memo from Berlin police tells employees what to do in case of a bomb threat, and officers will be present in force — although low-key, so as not to intrude on what all hope will be nothing more than a musical and visual experience.
"We are ready for any eventuality," said police spokesman Berhard Schodrowski.
Kolat, head of Germany's Turkish community, has said he plans to attend, as has Schaeuble, the interior minister. Still Ali Kizilkaya, head of Germany's Islamic Council, whose presence would have done much to defuse potential tensions, will not be there.
Instead of an opera where Muhammad and Christ are beheaded, "I ... would hope for a debate in society about whether everything should be allowed for the sake of art," he said, in indirect criticism of the decision to stage the production.
Another German Muslim leader, Aiman Mazyek, also said he would not attend, saying the purpose of opera was "not to mix religion, art and politics."
Also missing will be director Neuenfels, creator of the heads-scene and a talented but notorious "Problemkind" — problem-child — of the German cultural scene.
Neuenfels has harshly criticized the present Deutsche Oper management's revivals of his productions. He has insisted his staging not be altered, saying the scene where the king of Crete presents the severed heads represents his protest against "any form of organized religion or its founders."
The controversy has focused international interest on the production — a potentially welcome development for a house that competes for audience against two other opera companies in the German capital and is usually is no more than two-thirds full.
But tickets were still available just a few days before the performance.
"This is one of Mozart's less-known operas," said Busche of the relative lack of interest. As for the controversy around the severed heads, Berliners "are just not so into sensationalism."
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