Calls to restage ‘Idomeneo’ grow

Pressure mounted Tuesday on the German Opera to rescind the cancellation of a production that depicted the beheading of the prophet Muhammad, with Chancellor Angela Merkel saying “there can be no compromises” on free speech.

In addition, Berlin’s top security official suggested the cancellation was a mistake, and Germany’s top Protestant cleric added his voice to those calling for the opera to be restaged as soon as possible.

Kirsten Harms, director of the German Opera, defended her decision to pull the 3-year-old production of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” over fears of how Muslims may react to the scene, which also features the severed heads of Jesus and Buddha.

She announced the decision last week, after receiving a vague warning about possible security problems relayed to her by Berlin’s state interior minister, Ehrhart Koerting. Harms indicated that, with the right security guarantees, the opera could be restaged, although she offered no specific promise.