Performer raises Palestinian flag at Royal Opera House curtain call

Opera spokesperson condemns “wholly inappropriate” gesture during Il trovatore encore.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

A background performer in a Royal Opera House production drew controversy on Saturday night after unfurling a Palestinian flag during the curtain call.

The incident occurred during the encore of the final performance of Adele Thomas’s staging of Il trovatore, which ran at the London venue from July 8 to 19, according to the Daily Telegraph.

As the cast took their bows, the performer stood prominently holding up the flag.

Despite efforts by a production team member to confiscate it, the performer resisted and retained possession of the flag for the remainder of the curtain call.

Audience members described the scene as disruptive and unexpected.

“Someone from the opera house came on stage from the wings to try to remove the flag, but the cast member wrestled it back and refused to give it up,” an attendee told The Telegraph.

“The display of the flag was an unauthorized action by the artist. It was not approved by the Royal Ballet and Opera and is a wholly inappropriate act,” the Royal Ballet and Opera said in a statement.

Some audience members expressed frustration on social media.

“A chorus member held up a Palestine flag throughout the curtain call, and responded aggressively when a stage manager tried to take it off him,” an attendee wrote on X. “The audience reaction did not seem positive.”

Another audience member, Stephen Ratcliffe, posted: “Controversy at end of Trovatore tonight when an extra/chorus member unfurled a Palestinian flag. Off stage manager tried to grapple with him but he held his ground. Bet he won’t be working there again.”

Dov Forman, a Holocaust educator, also weighed in on X, criticizing the opera house. “The Royal Opera House gets £23 million a year from the taxpayer. If they want to give a platform to political stunts, fine—but can we have our money back?”

Thomas, the production director, reimagined the classic opera—centered on desire, superstition, and vengeance—over a two-and-a-half-hour runtime.

The flag display, however, was not connected to the opera’s themes and appears to have been a personal political statement by the performer.

The Royal Opera House has not confirmed whether disciplinary action will be taken but emphasized that the institution did not sanction the gesture.