Pro-Palestinian protest prompts scuffle onstage at Royal Opera House in London
Images posted on social media show what appears to be a member of the chorus holding the unfurled flag in front of his chest while the lead singers bask in the audience's applause on Saturday night.
After a few moments, someone backstage tries to grab the flag, but the performer holds onto it and snaps back into place.
'The display of the flag was an unauthorized action by the artist,' the opera company said in a statement on Sunday. 'It was not approved by the Royal Ballet and Opera and is a wholly inappropriate act.'
The opera company declined to comment when asked whether the performer would face any disciplinary action.
'Il Trovatore,' which translates as 'The Troubadour,' is an 1853 opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Director Adele Thomas' production reinterprets the story of desire and an all-consuming curse, the opera said.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa to bring eerie storytelling to his first samurai film
By Yuri Kageyama Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, known as a master of horror films set within the neurotic realism of the modern day, will bring his signature edge-of-your-seat storytelling to a genre he has never tackled before: the samurai movie. 'I do want to do it once, and it looks like it might be really happening, although things are still uncertain. I may finally be able to make my samurai film,' he told The Associated Press, noting he couldn't give much detail just yet. His upcoming samurai film will not have sword-fight scenes or action-packed outdoor shots that characterize the genre, known as jidaigeki. Instead, it will be the same creepy quiet narrative of Kurosawa movies, where the action takes place almost claustrophobically, in this case, in a castle that just happens to be set in the samurai era. That concept alone is enough to pique a movie lover's interest. The horror master was just honored at this year's Japan Cuts film festival in New York. The festival presented him the Cut Above award, international recognition that follows the Silver Lion at the 2020 Venice Film Festival for 'Wife of a Spy,' centered around a troubled married couple during World War II. Kurosawa, who is not related to 'Seven Samurai' and 'Rashomon,' director Akira Kurosawa, said period pieces are difficult to make due to the extraordinary costs of sets, props and costuming. He also made it clear he isn't interested in directing science fiction, but rather pursues realism. However, he readily acknowledged that his films are all made up, in fact, 'a lie.' 'Maybe this is my weakness, or my characteristic; I want to tell my stories in a setting of a very real modern-day society, yet I want to entertain," he said. "And so it's a contradiction that I aim for every time," 'You create a lie, like a horrific character (in a realistic framework),' he said. Kurosawa, who has managed to produce a film a year over his 40-year career, invests a lot of time researching the setting and backdrop of his films, including much reading, to make it as realistic as possible. In his most recent thriller, 'Cloud,' a man who is down on his luck, portrayed by Masaki Suda, makes dubious profits by reselling items he finds online at far higher prices. It starts harmless enough, except, as the plot thickens, the protagonist is confronted by victims out for revenge. Kurosawa is not one to hold back on violence, often gory and extreme but beautifully shot, sometimes almost comical in its bizarreness. 'Cure,' a 1997 film about a police detective investigating a series of gruesome murders, starring Koji Yakusho, uses continuous shots purposely without cuts to bring out the varied emotions, and the coldness of the characters, sometimes changing viscerally within the same scene, to explore madness. Despite his insistence on realism, Kurosawa, who counts Alfred Hitchcock among his influences, doesn't rule out the addition of tiny unreal elements for that perfectly subtle and eerie effect. But his movies are never happy-go-lucky, he said. 'Everything being happy is not possible if you start with the realism of modern-day Japan,' said Kurosawa. Kurosawa believes that while filmmaking is usually a giant confusing project where multiple players must work together, producers worrying about the box office and actors concerned about their roles, it is ultimately about dealing with what feels right to your deepest self. 'In the end, it all boils down to: I understand there are many opinions, but we must choose what is right. What does being right mean? To figure that out is the creator's job,' he said. © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Alec Baldwin talks his love for 'Peanuts' and the 'immeasurable' effects of his trial
Alec Baldwin, left, and a person dressed as the character Snoopy from "Peanuts" poses for a portrait to promote the 75th anniversary of "Peanuts" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) By ANDREW DALTON Alec Baldwin says the year since his trial suddenly ended with a dismissal has been far better than the few years that preceded it, and the affect that time has had on him has been 'immeasurable.' 'Something as powerful as that happens in your life, you don't know how much it changes you,' he said. 'I can't even tell you how different I am from three-and-a-half years ago. And what I want and what I don't want, and how I want to live my life and not live my life.' The 67-year-old actor spoke to The Associated Press at San Diego's Comic-Con International, where he was part of a panel on 75 years of Charles Schulz's 'Peanuts,' whose simplicity, existential philosophy and moral outlook have been very much on his mind. Baldwin spoke while a suited Snoopy character stood nearby after posing for photos with him. In a foreword Baldwin wrote for 'The Complete Peanuts 1977-1978,' he said while reading Schulz's newspaper comic strip every day as a child, he realized Charlie Brown, more than anyone, wanted the things he wanted. Chief among those wants are 'the desire to have friends and the desire to hold your friends close to you.' That hasn't changed in the years since. 'Come on, what man my age doesn't relate to Charlie Brown? If Charlie Brown was 67 years old, he'd be me, but he wouldn't have been stupid enough to have seven (small) children,' he said with a laugh. But he aspires to the qualities of a different character. 'Lucy. I want to be Lucy. Lucy is in charge. She's got it all figured out,' he said. 'She pauses for a moment of self-awareness, but not too long.' Baldwin said he admired Schulz's simple line drawings combined with the real circumstances of the characters, embodied by real children's voices when the animated holiday specials emerged in his childhood. 'It's so complicated and simple at the same time, which is what I think makes it beautiful,' he said. And he admired Schulz's willingness to embrace melancholy, and deeper darknesses, in stories about inner struggle that needed no villains. 'A dog sitting on top of a dog house would have the same impact on you as, like, Nietzsche, he said,' looking across the room at Snoopy. 'They should have named the dog Nietzsche.' Baldwin's career has had several distinct phases. Early on he played tough husbands and boyfriends in supporting roles including 'Married to the Mob' and 'Working Girl.' He moved on to heroic leading man in 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'The Shadow.' Downshifting to memorable character parts, he showed his gift for manly speeches in 'Glengarry Glen Ross' and 'The Departed,' and his comedy prowess in seven seasons of '30 Rock' and as a constant host and guest on 'Saturday Night Live.' In July 2024 his trial in New Mexico on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western 'Rust' fell apart halfway through. A judge dismissed the case on allegations authorities withheld evidence. 'I can't believe that happened on that day the way it happened,' he said. 'And it couldn't have been better for us in certain terms because of the malice and so forth and everything that's embodied in that whole situation.' The next phase is uncertain. He says he's 'just trying to move forward with my wife and my family.' He and wife Hilaria and their seven small kids recently appeared on the TLC reality series 'The Baldwins.' He says he has successfully sold his young ones on 'Peanuts,' especially the Halloween and Christmas specials, as he did with his now nearly 30-year-old daughter Ireland when she was young. He notices their personalities zig-zagging between the traits of Schulz's characters. 'They're Charlie Brown, now they're Snoopy, now they're Schroeder, now they're Linus, now they're Pig-Pen,' he said. 'They're Pig-Pen most of the time, I must say.' And their house is full of themed toys. He keeps a small Snoopy figure among the things in his office, a reminder to try to maintain 'love, kindness, patience.' "Peanuts are still kind of like, in that zone," he said. 'Let's just try to be good people.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Horror Master Kiyoshi Kurosawa to Bring Eerie Storytelling to His First Samurai Film
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, known as a master of horror films set within the neurotic realism of the modern day, will bring his signature edge-of-your-seat storytelling to a genre he has never tackled before: the samurai movie. 'I do want to do it once, and it looks like it might be really happening, although things are still uncertain. I may finally be able to make my samurai film,' he told The Associated Press, noting he couldn't give much detail just yet. His upcoming samurai film will not have sword-fight scenes or action-packed outdoor shots that characterize the genre, known as 'jidaigeki.' Instead, it will be the same creepy quiet narrative of Kurosawa movies, where the action takes place almost claustrophobically, in this case, in a castle that just happens to be set in the samurai era. That concept alone is enough to pique a movie lover's interest. The horror master was just honored at this year's Japan Cuts film festival in New York. The festival presented him the Cut Above award, international recognition that follows the Silver Lion at the 2020 Venice Film Festival for 'Wife of a Spy,' centered around a troubled married couple during World War II. Kurosawa, who is not related to 'Seven Samurai' and 'Rashomon,' director Akira Kurosawa, said period pieces are difficult to make due to the extraordinary costs of sets, props and costuming. He also made it clear he isn't interested in directing science fiction, but rather pursues realism. However, he readily acknowledged that his films are all made up, in fact, 'a lie.' 'Maybe this is my weakness, or my characteristic; I want to tell my stories in a setting of a very real modern-day society, yet I want to entertain,' he said. 'And so it's a contradiction that I aim for every time,' 'You create a lie, like a horrific character (in a realistic framework),' he said. Kurosawa, who has managed to produce a film a year over his 40-year career, invests a lot of time researching the setting and backdrop of his films, including much reading, to make it as realistic as possible. In his most recent thriller, 'Cloud,' a man who is down on his luck, portrayed by Masaki Suda, makes dubious profits by reselling items he finds online at far higher prices. It starts harmless enough, except, as the plot thickens, the protagonist is confronted by victims out for revenge. Kurosawa is not one to hold back on violence, often gory and extreme but beautifully shot, sometimes almost comical in its bizarreness. 'Cure,' a 1997 film about a police detective investigating a series of gruesome murders, starring Koji Yakusho, uses continuous shots purposely without cuts to bring out the varied emotions, and the coldness of the characters, sometimes changing viscerally within the same scene, to explore madness. Despite his insistence on realism, Kurosawa, who counts Alfred Hitchcock among his influences, doesn't rule out the addition of tiny unreal elements for that perfectly subtle and eerie effect. But his movies are never happy-go-lucky, he said. 'Everything being happy is not possible if you start with the realism of modern-day Japan,' said Kurosawa. Kurosawa believes that while filmmaking is usually a giant confusing project where multiple players must work together, producers worrying about the box office and actors concerned about their roles, it is ultimately about dealing with what feels right to your deepest self. 'In the end, it all boils down to: I understand there are many opinions, but we must choose what is right. What does being right mean? To figure that out is the creator's job,' he said.
