Following the September 11 attacks , the Boston Symphony Orchestra cancelled a scheduled performance in November 2001 of extracts from the opera . This was partly in deference to a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus , who lost a family member on one of the hijacked planes , as well as due to perceptions that the work was overly sympathetic to terrorists . In a widely discussed '' New York Times '' article , Richard Taruskin defended the orchestra 's action . He denounced Adams and the opera for " romanticizing terrorists " . John Rockwell of '' The New York Times '' , in a review of the Penny Woolcock film version , countered that the opera ultimately " shows unequivocally that murder is nothing more than that , vicious and unconscionable . " Adams responded to Taruskin 's criticisms on a number of occasions , including this 2004 statement : Not long ago our attorney general , John Ashcroft , said that anyone who questioned his policies on civil rights after September 11 was aiding terrorists ; what Taruskin said was the aesthetic version of that . If there is an aesthetic viewpoint that does not agree with his , it should not be heard . I find that very disturbing indeed . In a more academic analysis , musicologist Robert Fink countered Taruskin 's accusations of antisemitism , with particular reference to the deleted scene with the Rumor family . Fink has discussed how the removal of this scene disrupted the original dramaturgical structure of the opera , as the singers of the members of the Rumor family took on symbolically ironic later roles in the opera . Fink further posited that the reaction of American audiences to the portrayal of the Rumor family was partly because it was sociologically accurate . He discussed the scene in the historical context of past depictions in American popular culture of Jewish-American families . A separate academic study by Ruth Sara Longobardi discusses the opera with respect to issues about depictions of Palestinians and Jews . She explores how the use of contemporary media in productions , such as the Penny Woolcock film of the opera , affects perception of the two sides of the political conflict
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
The Death of Klinghoffer