2006 Idomeneo controversy

Cancellation of performances of an opera featuring the severed head of Muhammad On 26 September 2006 the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced the cancellation of four performances of Mozart's opera Idomeneo, re di Creta, planned for November 2006, citing concerns that the production's depictions of the severed head of the Islamic prophet Muhammad raised an "incalculable security risk". "To avoid endangering its audience and employees, the management has decided against repeating Idomeneo in November 2006", the opera house said in a press release.Kilb Andreas Oper: Kirsten Harms: Die Rückzieherin Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 28 September 2006 https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/oper-kirsten-harms-die-rueckzieherin-1355489.html de 7 February 2022 7 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220207193832/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/oper-kirsten-harms-die-rueckzieherin-1355489.html dead The cancelled performances were revivals of a 2003 Idomeneo production, directed by Hans Neuenfels, which added a final scene in which King Idomeneo staggering on stage carrying a bag of the severed heads of Neptune, Jesus, and Buddha and placing each on chairs; a departure from the libretto, in which the action is set in the aftermath of the Trojan War and only Neptune features in the plot. For the 2006 performances director Neuenfels pointedly added the head of Muhammad. The scene was intended to symbolize the people's release into freedom without gods or idols. The announcement came in the wake of controversy around Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture delivered on 12 September 2006. According to the BBC, the German press agency DPA said Berlin police had not so far recorded any direct threat to the opera house."Religious fears force off opera", BBC News. Retrieved September 26, 2006. However, The New York Times reported that there was an anonymous threat in August against the theatre.https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/world/europe/27germany.html Opera Canceled Over a Depiction of Muhammad Judy Dempsey Judy Dempsey Mark Landler Mark Landler The New York Times 27 September 2006 11 August 2020 The cancellation sparked a great deal of debate in Europe on the issue of self-censorship and the nature of free speech in a multicultural community that includes potentially violent Muslims. On 27 September 2006, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: "I think the cancellation was a mistake. I think self-censorship does not help us against people who want to practise violence in the name of Islam ... It makes no sense to retreat.""Merkel warns against bowing to fear of Muslim violence" https://web.archive.org/web/20131215012812/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%2F09%2F28%2Fstory_28-9-2006_pg4_4 2013-12-15 , Daily Times/Reuters, 28 September 2006 Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, after a government-sponsored conference with Muslim representatives held independently of the incident, told reporters that "[t]o send a signal, we could all go to the performance together", and the Muslim representatives agreed that the performance should not be cancelled.Mark Landler Mark Landler 28 September 2006 At German Conference on Muslim Relations, One Vote Is Unanimous: Mozart Must Go On https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/world/europe/28germany.html subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20240430122229/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/world/europe/28germany.html 2024-04-30 11 August 2020 The New York Times On 18 December 2006, the Berlin Opera staged Mozart's work with the newly added controversial ending scene amid mixed reactions, but no incidents (with a small security force and large foreign media contingent). Demonstrators were present outside, as well, including supporters of religious tolerance and Christian protesters (presumably relating to the inclusion of the severed head of Jesus). Various members of German government attended with German Muslim groups, with the notable exception of the central Muslim Council's general secretary, Aiman Mazyek de, who was quoted by Al Jazeera English as saying, "It's part of the concept of freedom of opinion and thought that you also have the right to say you are not going."."Berlin police protect Mozart opera" https://web.archive.org/web/20080103043631/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/60DDFE0C-FB12-4212-BD70-0505EAAC14BA.htm 2008-01-03, Al Jazeera English References Category:Cultural depictions of Muhammad Idomeneo Controversy, 2006 Category:Islam-related controversies in Europe Category:Religious scandals Category:Scandals in Germany Idomeneo Category:Works based on operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Category:Music in Berlin Category:Islam in Berlin Idomeneo controversy, 2006 Category:Religious controversies in opera Category:Censorship in the arts Category:Censorship in Germany de:Deutsche Oper Berlin#Idomeneo-Kontroverse 2006 it:Idomeneo (opera)#Scandalo 2006