Kate Miller-Heidke Deals With Death Threats While In Controversial NY Opera

Kate Miller-Heidke says she has dealt with death threats while starring in a controversial New York opera.

The classically-trained Australian singer, who made her name in the contemporary music world, is currently performing in The Metropolitan Opera’s The Death Of Klinghoffer, an opera based on the 1985 hijacking of a cruise ship and subsequent murder of 69-year old wheelchair-bound Jewish-American Leon Klinghoffer.

The production has prompted protests from Jewish groups in New York, who say it is glorifying terrorism.

"Some people, including several rabbis, have paid $US1000 each to boo from private boxes."

In a post on her Facebook, Miller Heidke writes that “from standing ovations to death threats, this past month has been an unforgettable experience.”

Earlier this week the opening night of the presentation was disrupted by protesters and cries of “shame on you” were yelled from the audience during the show.

In a diary for The Australian Miller-Heidke says that the cast were put through extensive terrorism education prior to the opening night and were not allowed guests backstage for security reasons.

“They run through the procedure if there’s a disruption and we have to stop the performance,” she wrote of an opening night briefing.

“The terrorists [actors] want to know what they should do if someone grabs them during their walk through the audience at the end of the show.

“No one mentions bombs, but I’m thinking about the Jewish Defense League, members of which have carried out several deadly terror attacks within the US on perceived enemies of Israel. There will be plainclothes police dotted around the theatre in case of emergency. I wonder if any of them are opera fans.”

She adds of rehearsals, “The rehearsal process is quite ­exhausting. I have to cower and act terrified for seven hours a day. Some parts of the opera are genuinely scary, and I have bruises all over my legs from being pushed around by Rambo [one of the hijackers]. My body doesn’t quite know it isn’t real. Fear is fear, it’s a physical thing, and sometimes I’m crying under my blindfold.”

"No one mentions bombs, but I’m thinking about the Jewish Defense League."

Despite the ongoing controversy reviews have been positive, with both the New York Times and The New Yorker praising the tension of the story.

In her recounting of the opening night Miller-Heidke writes, “During the performance a man repeatedly yells: ‘The murder of Klinghoffer will never be forgiven!’, followed by ‘Get your hands off me!’ as he’s arrested. A woman with a Brooklyn accent replies, ‘No one is here to forgive!’

"This seems to open up the floor for anyone to shout things. At the start of the second act, someone yells: ‘I LOVE this!’ Someone replies: ‘This is shit!’

"Some people, including several rabbis, have paid $US1000 each to boo from private boxes.

"They’re drowned out by cheers that build to a thunderous standing ovation at the end of the show. The opera stars on the stage eat standing ovations for breakfast, but I doubt any of them have felt anything quite like this. And the disrupters are somehow as much a part of it as we are.

"I drink champagne and debrief with smart, talented, courageous people, some of who are now dear friends. I hail a taxi and zoom downtown through the magical 3am streets of Manhattan, feeling very tiny, very giddy and very alive."