Royal Ballet and Opera cancels Tel Aviv show after staff protest Gaza war

Famed UK company was set to stage Puccini's Tosca at Israeli Opera

Cast member Daniel Perry holds the Palestinian flag during the curtain call of Il Trovatore at Royal Opera House in London. Reuters

The Royal Ballet and Opera cancelled a planned performance in Tel Aviv after more than 182 members signed an open letter criticising Israel's recent actions “in the context of the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.

The members include dancers, singers, musicians and staff across several departments.

Alex Beard, chief executive of the famed UK theatre company, confirmed the decision to The Guardian. “I am appalled by the crisis in Gaza and recognise the deep emotional impact this has had across our community and wider society,” Beard said.

The RBO was scheduled to stage Puccini's masterpiece Tosca in July. The Israeli Opera, which is hosting the production, still lists the show on its website, but has removed all references to the RBO.

The open letter from RBO members comes after a viral July 19 incident when a brief scuffle broke out at the Royal Opera House when a performer unfurled a Palestinian flag during a curtain call. In the clip, a man later identified as RBO’s director of opera, Oliver Mears, can be seen trying to wrest the flag away from the performer, Daniel Perry.

Perry later told The Times that Mears said he would be banned from performing at the Royal Opera House ever again.

“The events at the curtain call on July 19 were without precedent,” Beard told The Guardian. “We have reflected carefully and reviewed our internal protocols. We always endeavour to act with integrity and compassion. We want our stage to remain a space for shared cultural appreciation, free from individual political statements.”

In the strongly worded letter addressed to Beard and the board of RBO, members called for Mears “to be held accountable for his public display of aggression”.

His actions were “far from being a neutral administrative intervention”, they said, adding “it sent a clear message that any visible solidarity with Palestine would be met with hostility”.

Members also criticised the RBO for hiring out its production of another Puccini opera, Turandot, to the Israeli Opera, which ran across June and July. As reported in The Guardian, preparations for Turandot took place when the Israel-Iran war broke out, and rehearsals were held in bomb shelters, with at least one performer leaving the production.

“The decision cannot be viewed as neutral. It is a deliberate alignment, materially and symbolically, with a government currently engaged in crimes against humanity,” the members said.

“The venue itself, the Israeli Opera, publicly offers free tickets to soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces ‘in recognition of their work’, as stated on their website. The RBO is clearly making a strong political statement by allowing its production and intellectual property to be presented in a space that openly rewards and legitimises the very forces responsible for the daily killings of civilians in Gaza.”

The members then demanded the RBO withhold productions “from institutions that legitimise and economically support a state engaged in mass killing”.

“We organised concerts for Ukraine, we played the Ukrainian national anthem before performances, and we publicly displayed the Ukrainian flag as a gesture of solidarity with its people. We understood then that silence was unacceptable. Why is it different now? The double standard is deafening,” they said.

In his statement to the The Guardian, Beard said he and the RBO board “acknowledge and respect the full range of views held by our staff, artists and audiences”.

“Our support for Ukraine was aligned with the global consensus at the time,” he said. “As the world’s geopolitics have become more complex, our stance has changed to ensure that our actions reflect our purpose and values.”