Letter: Gay Rights and the Met

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In "Petition Wants Met's Gala Dedicated to Gay Rights" (Arts pages, Aug. 20), Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera's general manager, asserts that those who demand that the opening event for the Met's season be dedicated to supporting gay rights in Russia are "barking up the wrong tree."

Draconian antigay laws are being passed in Russia this summer. The Metropolitan Opera has a history of benefit performances for disaster victims and commemorating world events with powerful artistic gestures. What better way for the Met to make a statement about its support of gay human rights than at a night featuring the work of Tchaikovsky, whose life was destroyed out of shame and despair as a closeted gay man?

Would the Met's statement of unequivocal support for human rights in Russia solve the problem of virulent antigay hatred? No, of course not, but the Met can make a uniquely glorious sound, adding to the growing chorus of those who stand firmly against such hatred.

As a lesbian, as the senior rabbi of New York City's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer synagogue, Beit Simchat Torah, and as a loyal subscriber to the Met, I cannot accept that silence is justified in the name of art remaining above politics.

Words matter. Music matters.

SHARON KLEINBAUM
New York, Aug. 20, 2013

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