An Evening among Heads of Prophets, Gods and Microphones

On my way to Heathrow Airport the news on the BBC World Service headlined a rare operatic event, a performance of Idomeneo at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in a “controversial production” by Hans Neuenfels. The newscaster commented that this was a defiant occasion because previous performances had been cancelled due to religious fundamentalist’s objections. Whilst sitting in wait for my flight I watched the news on the BBC where I also watched this item prominently presented as something of a rarity. Those of us who work in the arts know that arts and politics rarely mix and that the arts rarely make news of this magnitude. But on the 19th this was the "Mother of all Arts" news.

The German Government had been furious with the Theatre management bowing to this kind of pressure and after some comments from the Kanzlerin Angela Merkel herself…