An Opera In the Key Of Denial
By Anne Applebaum (THE WASHINGTON POST, 03/10/06):
"Self-censorship out of fear" is how the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, described the decision. One of her allies accused a great cultural institution of "falling on its knees." The word "kowtow" was thrown around, along with "appeasement" and "cowardice" -- and all because the Deutsche Oper in Berlin canceled its production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" for fear that the avant-garde remake's final, unscripted scene (in which the king of Crete lugs onstage the severed heads of Jesus, Buddha, Poseidon and Muhammad) might offend Muslim sensibilities and create a security risk.
At some level, this overdue display of unity by Germany's cultural and political elite was heartwarming.… Seguir leyendo »