The Death of Klinghoffer

Director Penny Woolcock deserves an immense amount of credit for providing a vibrant, emotionally expansive if not altogether dramatically effective 2003 screen translation of what was likely the last decade's most controversial opera. What began as an elaborate oratorio in... Full review

A strong, location filmed movie of Adams' controversial opera. The American/British cast act with commendable moderation given that they are all stage animals (the tendency is to be over demonstrative on stage, but that doesn't transfer here). Chief amongst that cast... Full review

Although I have enjoyed the few live and movie productions I have attended, I am not an opera fan, but as a musician I can appreciate its place as ultimate theater/music/art. As such, most operas - even made into movies -... Full review

Bad script, bad music and really bad acting. I could not stop watching this movie, because it was so bad. A movie adaptation of an opera about the terrorist take-over of the Achille Lauro was a really stupid idea in... Full review

The fact that I did not like the music is a very personal opinion, the historical innacuracies are not. I do realize that it is an opera and not a documentary, but some important aspects are missing, especiallly if other... Full review

This opera, in acknowledging the plight of the Palestinian people, is somewhat progressive, but it fails to fully portray the role of Klinghoffer on the ship in trying to stir up the passengers and opposing the Palestinian freedom fighters. The... Full review

Channel 4 in the UK does some gutsy stuff and this certainly qualifies, inflaming Jews, Palestinians and Americans all in one film. It is a powerful document but I don't think it contributes anything musically. The lyrics are ponderous and... Full review

I just saw the premiere at Sundance 1/23/2003. This film is an adaptation of Adams' wonderful opera of the same name about the 1985 takeover of the Achille Lauro cruise ship and the death of one of the passengers. The... Full review

For one thing, most of the singing is virtually unintelligible due to the film's horribly muddy sound mix, leading to crucial narrative information being lost. While the opera "The Death of Klinghoffer" seems like a dubious enough proposition to begin with, turning that opera into a movie was just an all around bad idea. ... Full Review

Perhaps it's all because of his iconic name but composer John Adams has a knack for making headline works, pieces that become the talk of a season. ... Full Article

NEW YORK - This year's Opera News Awards are going to sopranos Natalie Dessay and Renee Fleming, mezzo Marilyn Horne, baritone Sherrill Milnes and composer John Adams. Adams' compositions include "Nixon in China" and "The Death of Klinghoffer." Another of ... Full Article

I'd like to blame the recall election and the fervor of the Bush vs. Kerry campaign for the fact that two provocative and artfully made political films from 2003 and 2004 have never before screened in Los Angeles. ... Full Article

Writing about writing is not fascinating. But that's what I do most of the time, and I am going to force myself to hand over this draft to George on Thursday night. ... Full Article

Brit TV helmer Penny Woolcock's screen translation of U.S. composer John Adams' 1991 opera, "The Death of Klinghoffer" reps a surprisingly potent marriage of serious contempo music and docudrama-style storytelling. ... Full Article

In terms of commercial timing, the new film adaptation of the controversial John Adams opera "The Death of Klinghoffer" could not have come at a worse time. ... Full Article