Orchestra Cancels Work on Hijacking

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Symphony, citing the Sept. 11 attacks, has canceled performances of choruses from "The Death of Klinghoffer,'' an opera about the 1984 hijacking of a cruise ship.

The 1990 opera by John Adams meditates on the attack on the Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists, who killed American Jewish passenger Leon Klinghoffer and pushed his body into the sea as he sat in his wheelchair.
"We programmed this piece because we believe in it as a work of art, and we still hold that conviction,'' BSO managing director Mark Volpe said. But, given the proximity of the Sept. 11 attacks, the orchestra decided "to err on the side of being sensitive,'' he added.

The performances had been scheduled for later this month. Volpe said the decision was made in consultation with music director Seiji Ozawa and conductor Robert Spano.
"It seems inappropriate to perform excerpts from an opera about a terrorist act right now. I fear that extra-musical considerations would prevent a real appreciation,'' Spano said.

Adams told The Boston Globe by e-mail he disagreed with the decision "not only because it presumes the BSO's audiences only want comfort and familiarity during these difficult times, but also because it sets a precedent that there is poetry and music that should not be performed at a given moment because of its content.''