The Calgary Opera removed a singer from the remaining performances of its production of Tosca after he displayed a Palestinian flag on stage. Opera singer Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega pulled a Palestinian flag from his pocket and unfurled it during the curtain call of the opera’s opening night on October 16. Video of the moment has circulated online, with one post garnering nearly a million views.
Newsweek contacted Sanchez-Ortega via Instagram on Tuesday. The Calgary Opera said in a statement, reported by OperaWire, that the action was "unexpected and unauthorized" and that the cast member had been replaced for the remaining performances of Tosca. The opera company told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "The Calgary Opera prohibits personal protest on our stages and at our events.
The display of any protest symbol or action would result in similar consequences." They said they would continue to apply this policy "universally" in response to "all cases of unauthorized protest, regardless of the symbol or action that protest takes." The Calgary Opera confirmed that Sanchez-Ortega was not featured in yesterday’s show and will not appear in the October 24 closing performance, but declined to comment further on "personnel matters." Sanchez-Ortega posted on Instagram a video of the incident, in which the audience can be heard cheering and applauding. He addressed his removal from Tosca in an Instagram story, as reported by OperaWire, writing: "I have no regrets. This is the state of cultural institutions in Canada." "I was informed that financial threats had been made against Calgary Opera.
After the theatre, (political or otherwise) we all have to go home, and look at ourselves in the mirror. It was my honour to play the role of Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner," he said. As Israel’s actions in Gaza have continued, a number of artists have used live performances to express support for Palestinians, sometimes facing repercussions.
In September, rapper Macklemore was dropped from the U.S. leg of Ed Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestinian remarks during a concert in New Jersey. The tour’s promoter said venues had indicated they would not allow him to perform, while several supporting acts withdrew from the tour in solidarity with him. A performer at the Royal Opera House in London also unfurled a Palestinian flag on stage during a curtain call of the closing performance of Il Trovatore in July 2025.
The opera company later described the incident as a "wholly inappropriate act." Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Robert Greenall and Ben Kelly
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