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Berlin opera sets dates for 'Idomeneo' - Yahoo! News

AP
Berlin opera sets dates for 'Idomeneo'

Wed Nov 1, 2:46 PM ET

BERLIN - The Mozart opera production canceled over security concerns because of a scene depicting the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad will be staged on Dec. 18 and Dec. 29, the Deutsche Oper said Wednesday.

The opera company said last week it would return Hans Neuenfels' interpretation of "Idomeneo" to its winter lineup, after a new police security assessment determined no "concrete danger" existed, but it had not announced the dates.

Opera head Kirsten Harms canceled four November performances following a vague security warning from police linked to a scene where the severed heads of Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, and Neptune are presented.

Neuenfels refused to have the scene cut from his interpretation of the 225-year-old opera, saying it represented a protest against all organized religion.

Consequently, Harms decided to not to put on the opera this season. The move provoked widespread debate, coming after

Pope Benedict XVI's controversial remarks about Islam and the international uproar over a Danish paper's publication of caricatures of depicting Muhammad.

Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called the decision to cancel the opera "crazy" and Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship out of fear."

The cast for the new performance was to be announced later, the statement said.

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