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Bloomberg: "Why Met Won’t Bow to Protest of Anti-Gay Law: Peter Gelb"
LGBT activists have requested that the Metropolitan Opera dedicate just one performance in its current run of "Eugene Onegin," by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the famous gay Russian composer, to oppressed LGBT citizens in Russia. The Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, has declined that request. Below is his op-ed that appeared the other day in Bloomberg explaining his decision.
As I said in the comments to the article, there is a sad irony in the general manager of the Met, America's premier showplace for operatic repertoire, much of which is filled with themes that have historically made opera among the most overtly political of all higher art forms, declaring the institution to be, in effect, 'above the fray' of political expression.
[font size=5]Why Met Won’t Bow to Protest of Anti-Gay Law: Peter Gelb[/font]
[font size=1 color="gray"]By Peter Gelb - Sep 22, 2013 4:00 PM ET[/font]
With activists preparing to picket the Met’s season-opening production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” tonight, I think it is important that the public understands why the Met is not dedicating its performance to the oppressed gay citizens of Russia, even though we’re being pressured to do so.
The activists argue that since Tchaikovsky was gay and our performance features several Russian artists who have been associated with Vladimir Putin, the Met must turn our performance into a public rebuke of Russia and, by association, the Russian performers on our stage.
While I’m confident that many members of our company join me in personally deploring the tyranny of Russia’s new anti-gay laws, we’re also opposed to the laws of the 76 countries that go even further than Russia in the outright criminalization of homosexuality.
We stand against the significant human rights abuses that take place every day in many countries. But as an arts institution, the Met is not the appropriate vehicle for waging nightly battles against the social injustices of the world.
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[font size=1 color="gray"]By Peter Gelb - Sep 22, 2013 4:00 PM ET[/font]
With activists preparing to picket the Met’s season-opening production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” tonight, I think it is important that the public understands why the Met is not dedicating its performance to the oppressed gay citizens of Russia, even though we’re being pressured to do so.
The activists argue that since Tchaikovsky was gay and our performance features several Russian artists who have been associated with Vladimir Putin, the Met must turn our performance into a public rebuke of Russia and, by association, the Russian performers on our stage.
While I’m confident that many members of our company join me in personally deploring the tyranny of Russia’s new anti-gay laws, we’re also opposed to the laws of the 76 countries that go even further than Russia in the outright criminalization of homosexuality.
We stand against the significant human rights abuses that take place every day in many countries. But as an arts institution, the Met is not the appropriate vehicle for waging nightly battles against the social injustices of the world.
< . . . . >
