The cancellation of The Metropolitan Opera’s worldwide HD broadcast of John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer has been widely reported in the press over the last several days. Recorded by Nonesuch in 1992, The Death of Klinghoffer has been met with controversy since its premiere in 1991, but the work has endured and received many new productions since then. It was made into a film by the acclaimed director Penny Woolcock, and in recent years has had major productions at Juilliard in New York and in St. Louis and London, where the English National Opera presented the universally praised production that is being brought to The Metropolitan Opera this fall.

The cancellation was announced on Monday, with the New York Times reporting that the decision was made after discussions between The Metropolitan Opera and the Anti-Defamation League. The Times quotes a League spokesperson as saying that "while the opera itself is not anti-Semitic, there is a concern the opera could be used in foreign countries to stir up anti-Israel sentiments or as a vehicle to promote anti-Semitism." Read the full article here.

John Adams responded to the cancellation in a day later, also in the Times, and today the paper's chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, wrote a tribute to The Death of Klinghoffer, along with his thoughts on why he believes the Met’s decision was a mistake: "Missed Opportunities Amid an Opera Controversy," as did the Times Editorial Board in "The Klinghoffer Tragedy." 

The Guardian’s Tom Service commented on the cancellation earlier this week as well, which you can read here.

And for greater context on the controversy that has followed The Death of Klinghoffer, please see Robert Fink’s extensive essay published in 2005 by the Cambridge University Press, available at academia.edu.