A decision by the West Australia Opera company to drop Carmen because it features smoking has left Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, fuming about “political correctness gone crazy”.
The state-owned opera company is ditching George Bizet’s masterpiece from its repertoire under a A$400,000 (£220,000) two-year partnership with Healthway, a state government health promotion group
Opera is “an exaggeration and if we are running around looking to take offence or looking to spread some politically correct message, just about every opera would be forbidden”, he told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
We don’t stop ‘Macbeth’ because it promotes killing kings.”
The state-owned opera company is ditching George Bizet’s masterpiece from its repertoire under a A$400,000 (£220,000) two-year partnership with Healthway, a state government health promotion group
Opera is “an exaggeration and if we are running around looking to take offence or looking to spread some politically correct message, just about every opera would be forbidden”, he told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
We don’t stop ‘Macbeth’ because it promotes killing kings.”