The Calgary Opera’s performance of Tosca lasted just eight days, but it generated no shortage of controversy and drama in that run time. Bass singer Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega was removed from the production after it’s opening night on Oct. 16 after he unfurled a Palestinian flag hidden in his costume on the production’s opening night and displayed it to the crowd as cast members took their bows at the end of the show. Those actions saw his character, escaped political prisoner Cesare Angelloti, be played by a different actor for the rest of the show’s run time. Sanchez-Ortega says he has no regrets. “The struggle for Palestinian liberation is our struggle as well. It is the struggle for humanity. It is not my right, or anybody’s right, to tell people how to protest this injustice,” Sanchez-Ortega said in a statement to CTV News. The opera, meanwhile, said Sanchez-Ortega’s actions were “unexpected and unauthorized.” “Individual political protest contravenes not only company policy, but also our responsibility to create a more connected, caring, and civil society through shared artistic experiences,” Calgary Opera said in a statement on social media. “We recognize that this moment may have affected the audience — as well as cast members, crew, orchestral musicians, and Jubilee staff — in different ways, and we regret any discomfort and distress it caused.” Closing night protests The production saw another protest on Saturday night for it’s closing show — but this time from several audience members. These audience members got up during the show and started speaking and shouting in support of Sanchez-Ortega and of Palestine. “We’re not out here just disrupting for the sake of disrupting, ” protester Weesam Cooley told CTV News. “We’re opposing the ongoing mass slaughter of at least tens of thousands of Palestinians, which is still happening now.” More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing war with Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, according to United Nations data. More than 170,000 have been injured in the same timeframe. “This is the kind of thing that everything, everywhere should be disrupted until this is stopped,” Cooley said. But for some in the audience Saturday, the protest was quite frightening. Marilyn Sellar was sitting on the front row of the balcony when the disruption began on the theatre’s floor. “Some other protesters came in and they were shouting and wagging, waving flags. If I had been down there, I’m sure I would have been terrified,” Sellar said. Sellar says she respects anyone’s right to protest and express themselves, noting that she had no issue with the same protesters when they were outside the Jubilee Auditorium before the show, but says protesting inside during the show is a step too far. “They crossed a line… They had no business ruining a wonderful experience, a very expensive production,” Sellar said. “It was a little sad to watch. Now they’re probably going to have to hire security guards because people will be afraid,” Sellar continued. Also among the members of the audience was former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, who shared express his distaste of the situation on social media. “I just think it’s gross,” Kenney told CTV News. “Everybody’s got the right to protest, no problem with that. But do it legally. Do it in the right way, the right place.” “There are countless places where people can go and protest, express their views. But during the performance of a great work of art where people have paid good money for those tickets, it’s just not appropriate.” Kenney says he also disagrees with the protesters on an ideological level, but regardless of ideology, isn’t happy with the approach. “What if someone else pulled out an Israeli flag and they start an argument on stage? That’s not what anybody is there for. It’s not the right time nor place,” Kenney said. Protest support Cooley believes disruptive protest is an important way to spread a message he strongly believes in. “I have a feeling those people who had their evening disrupted are going to be okay,” he said. “I know it sucks. I know you wanted to go see the show and someone wants to come in and talk about Arabs being burned alive in their homes somewhere else, and it bothers you, but I think they’re going to be okay. “They’re going to be okay in a way that most Palestinians are not.” While some in the audience were critical of the protest, many supporters took to social media in support of the protesters and Sanchez-Ortega. “Opera has always been political, especially Tosca. Some people are just forgetting that. We’re standing with you,” Instagram user @Micaela.alridge wrote under Sanchez-Ortega’s post. “We support Gabriel and we stand with Palestine. We stand for human rights, justice, and freedom for Palestine. Enough is enough,” Instagram user @Ines-saez said under a post by the Palestinian Community Association of Calgary. Calgary Opera’s statement In response to Saturday’s protests, Calgary Opera said in a statement to CTV News it recognized the protests caused stress and discomfort to audience members — something the organization says it “sincerely regrets.” “Calgary Opera respects the right of individuals to express their personal beliefs and to protest peacefully, provided those actions do not disrupt performances, events, or other programming,” the statement said. “We take seriously our responsibility to provide a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for our audiences, artists, and staff. Actions that disrupt a performance undermine the tremendous dedication of the performers and compromise the shared experience for patrons.”
