World Press Mixed on ‘Klinghoffer’ : Opera: French love John Adams’ new work; English, Germans do not.

Press reaction is trickling in for Peter Sellars’ “Death of Klinghoffer,” which received its world premiere Tuesday in Brussels. In Europe, generally, the French-language press loved it, but the English and German publications did not.

John Rockwell of the New York Times wrote that in the first act, “everything looked and sounded unsure,” but in the second act “everything cohered into powerful drama.”

Robert Commanday, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, praised the new work as a “real and convincing opera,” describing it, “a lyrical, poetic treatment and not an action drama.”

Composed by John Adams after an Alice Goodman text, choreographed by Mark Morris and staged by Sellars, “Klinghoffer” is loosely based on the hijacking by Palestinians of the Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985. During the ordeal, Leon Klinghoffer, an American Jew, was murdered and thrown into the Mediterranean with his wheelchair.

Paule Tron of Belgium’s La Libre Belguique wrote: “The ‘Death of Klinghoffer’ will have its place in the repertory, giving art a new creation to ponder.”

But Elmar Krokeler of Die Welt in Germany had nothing but biting sarcasm for “Klinghoffer.” Referring to Adams’ remarks made at a press conference a few hours before the premiere (“What else does America export except smart bombs?”), he wrote: “ ‘Klinghoffer’ is in no danger of becoming an export item. It is scenic oratorio theater till the end of the 20th Century, complex but not complete.”

Max Loppert of the Financial Times of London said the new work “left me uninvolved and not entirely certain what the work and its creators are actually trying to ‘say.’ ”

Loppert likewise criticized Adams’ score: “The big musical moments with their curious echoes of Shostakovich, Holst and Vaughn Williams feel strongly hollow. Goodman’s rather wishy-washy text is a crucial failing.”

The French and Belgians were much more friendly toward the singers and Adams’ music.

Leclaerck of Le Soir wrote that “It is less repetitive than ‘Nixon in China,’ instead modulating and meandering along the lines of his recent piece based on Whitman poetry, ‘The Wound Dresser.’ This ideal show is also inspired by the team of singers united in Brussels, some of whom have performed Sellars’ work and Adams’ music before. These include James Maddalena (Captain of the Achille Lauro), Sanford Sylvan (Klinghoffer), Eugene Perry (Mamoud) and Sheila Nadler (Marilyn Klinghoffer). Their interpretation is admirably detailed in a breathtaking relevance.”

In Le Figaro, Doucelin praised the “command” of American conductor Kent Nagano, “who boasted of a breathtaking precision and of a great refinement in his balance of sounds.”

Praise for Mark Morris and his dancers was fairly universal. “Mark Morris,” said Le Soir, “has arranged short, numerous interventions almost always that of a great simplicity. There’s nothing of the academic exercise here but rather a sort of counterpoint, more agitated, where invention limits itself to fluid movements, very modern dance and elements of mind.”

Doucelin of Le Figaro found George Tsypin’s set of ramps and elevators supported by stainless steel bars, signifying the bulk of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, as overbearing. But he did find that “the semaphoric movements of Mark Morris’ dancers are sufficient to compensate for the impression the set gives of petrification.”

This premiere production of Adams’ opera moves to Nagano’s Lyon base for performances April 13-21, then on to Vienna, Austria, in May and then to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in September. In September, 1992, it will be staged at the Los Angeles Music Center Opera as part of the L.A. Festival.

Also contributing to this story were Isabel Maelcamp and Pablo Fernandez.