On-stage tussle as cast member displays Palestinian flag at Royal Opera House

21 July 2025, 11:30

A dancer held up the flag during the final curtain call of Verdi’s Il trovatore.

A performer at the Royal Ballet and Opera unfurled a Palestinian flag during curtain call.

A brief tussle then broke out as Director of Opera, Oliver Mears, appeared from the wings and unsuccessfully tried to pull the flag from the dancer – who has been named as Daniel Perry by The Telegraph.

The protest took place at London’s Covent Garden-based opera house on Saturday night following the final performance of Adele Thomas’s production Verdi’s Il trovatore.

A spokesperson for the Royal Ballet and Opera said: “The display of the flag was an unauthorised action by the artist.

“It was not approved by the Royal Ballet and Opera and is a wholly inappropriate act.”

Read more: Audience member banned from Royal Opera House after he loudly booed child singer during aria

Operagoer Stephen Ratcliffe posted a video of the incident to X.

He captioned the video: “Controversy at end of Trovatore @rbo_org 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”.

The reaction in the room was mixed, with some audience members heard applauding and cheering, while another was heard saying “oh my God”.

There has been a varied response on social media, with some describing the dancer as a ‘hero’, but others describing him as ‘entitled’.

In the wider music world, a number of performers and music artists have recently shown support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, including Kneecap, Bob Vylan and Wolf Alice at Glastonbury Festival.