I’m interested in opera, and intrigued by Michael Cooper’s current New York Times article exploring the politics of an upcoming show. The Death of Klinghoffer was written by John Adams in 1991, and since then has been produced by several major companies. However, its arrival on the world’s greatest stage, at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, will not take place until Monday. For months, the Met production has been swathed in controversy triggered by Adams’ portrayal of a terrorist act related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I won’t go into detail – everything is very well explained by Cooper. Rather, I want to focus on a contextual issue mentioned in his piece.

In 2011, Klinghoffer was performed by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis – and linked to it were some interfaith dialogues. Rabbi Howard Kaplansky, chair of the Newmark Institute, posted online about them on June 15 and 17, 2011. This is part of what he wrote: “While the mission statement of the Newmark Institute does not include the promotion of the arts, per se, we are ‘dedicated to advancing pluralism by organizing, supporting and promoting programs and activities that foster good human relations between people of diverse backgrounds … through dialogue and other means.’ Therefore, we accepted an invitation to collaborate with Opera Theatre to form a steering committee, drawn from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as representatives of Opera Theatre, to promote education and dialogue in regard to the opera. Our goal was community building.”

In Myanmar, the need for interfaith dialogue is also pressing. Whilst some already takes place, a lot more could be done to bring together Buddhists and Muslims in particular. I guess opera is unlikely to be the right vehicle in a country lacking that tradition. But finding other ways to stage shows that might foster debate across sectarian lines would be very welcome. It won’t be easy, but it does need to be done.