Very Clever Mozart: For not having Mohammed’s head in the original production of Idomeneo by Tom Attea

Very Clever Mozart: For not having Mohammed’s head in the original production of Idomeneo
by: Tom Attea

As all the world now knows, Berlin’s Deutsche Oper closed a production of Mozart’s perennially harmless opera Idomeneo, because of “incalculable risk” due to a threat from a Muslim group or individual over the director’s decision to include a scene in which the heads of Mohammed, Jesus, and Budda are presented without their accompanying bodies.

The heady scene is reportedly an effort on the part of the director to mix opera with his own anti-religious sentiments.

While Mozart was not above being a bit of a rabble rouser – note the antagonism he bestirred among the nobility due to the amorous ways and eventual comeuppance of the broadly ignoble Don Giovanni – we give him the belated accolade of Clever Monkey of the Week for not finding if necessary to present disembodied prophets in the original production.

The oper avowed that it shut down the production “with great regret,” but government officials other than the security forces were not pleased.

As the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, said, "with all understanding for the concern about the security of spectators and performers, I consider the decision of the director to be wrong. Our ideas about openness, tolerance and freedom must be lived on the offensive. Voluntary self-limitation gives those who fight against our values a confirmation in advance that we will not stand behind them."

There was a redemptive bright spot on the Islamic horizon. Kenan Kilat, who is the leader of Germany's Turkish Community, told the online newspaper Netzeitung that, while he could understand how the three-headed scene could offend Muslims, an opera is not a political forum.

He went on to say the nearly miraculous, "I would recommend Muslims learn to accept certain things. Art must remain free."

We commend his wisdom and courage.

But evidently we still have an enormous cultural chasm to deal with. Imagine how far we are from the headline “Famous Muslim Opera Closed Due To Courtesy Toward Christians.”

About The Author

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of http://NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway. Critics have called his writing for the theater "delightfully funny," "witty," with "great humor" and "good, genuine laughs."