ROWENA SMITH [The Herald, 14 December 2005]

In an Edinburgh Festival memorable for its controversial performances (Arab-Israeli youth orchestras, new plays dealing with the subject of paedophilia) Scottish Opera's production of The Death of Klinghoffer led the field. The Festival's decision to give the long-overdue UK stage premiere of the opera by John Adams based on the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise liner by Palestinian terrorists, attracted a good deal of criticism from certain quarters from the moment it was announced. Further interest was generated when details of the production – the storming of the ship from the body of the theatre – were revealed, and by talk of a distinct lack of tendresse between director Anthony Neilson and what remained of Scottish Opera Chorus (now, of course, no more).