The musical has been produced worldwide for more than 40 years |
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A theatre
in the south Russian city of Rostov has dropped a production of Jesus Christ
Superstar after protests by Orthodox Christians.
A Russian
company was due to stage the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera at the Rostov
Philharmonic next month.
Protesters
had complained the opera projected the "wrong" image of Christ.
News of the
cancellation baffled members of the cast and caused indignation among commentators
wary of Church interference in public life.
Local
Russian Orthodox protesters lodged their complaint with prosecutors in
Rostov-on-Don, a city of one million, and also wrote a letter to the management
of the Philharmonic, according to the Rostov Times newspaper.
Citing a
"new law protecting the rights of believers", they described the
musical as a "profanation" and said any such production should be
submitted to the Russian Orthodox Church for approval.
It is
unclear to which law the protesters were referring. The lower house of the
Russian parliament, the State Duma, is currently considering a bill which would
make it a crime to offend the "religious feelings of citizens".
Religious
sensitivities became a real political issue in Russia this year with the
prosecution and jailing of three punk musicians, from the band Pussy Riot, for
performing a political protest song inside a Moscow cathedral.
Popular
Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov said in a tweet that "Orthodox
philistines" had cancelled the musical.
The
award-winning rock opera made its Broadway debut in 1971 and has since been
performed across the world, with several film versions produced.
Russian
theatres have been staging it for more than two decades.
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