Latest news with #GazaGenocide
Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The Royal Opera's panic over Israel is a crisis of its own making
That loud bang coming from the direction of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) is the sound of a stable door being slammed shut. And the bolting horse? Well, there's been a whole Grand National of them over the past month. First we had the dancer waving a Palestinian flag during the curtain call for the Royal Opera's Il trovatore. That triggered the frankly ludicrous spectacle of Oliver Mears — the RBO's director of opera, no less — leaping from the wings like some panicky stagehand to wrest the flag out of the dancer's hands. Which of course only made the incident more newsworthy. • Privately educated dancer in Gaza protest at Royal Opera Then came the open letter to the RBO management from 182 staff members (apparently under the tutelage of Private Eye's Dave Spart) praising the protesting dancer's 'act of courage and moral clarity', castigating Mears for intervening and calling on the opera house to 'publicly acknowledge the genocide in Gaza' and sever its ties with Israel. The RBO management could have ignored this. After all, it has a permanent staff of 1,100 people. Fewer than 17 per cent signed the letter. Instead, Alex Beard, the RBO's chief executive, sent out an extraordinarily ambivalent internal missive. On the one hand he declared that the opera house's stage should be 'free from individual political statements'. Yet at the same time he announced that a new production of Tosca (directed by none other than Oliver 'flag snatcher' Mears) that had been lined up for rental to the Israeli Opera would no longer be going to Tel Aviv. Naturally this was triumphantly seized upon by the pressure group Artists for Palestine UK (the activists who had organised the staff's letter) as evidence of the RBO management caving in to their demands. Which left Beard in a rather pitiful state, desperately telling anyone who would listen that he had scrapped the plan to send Tosca to Israel before, not after, receiving the staff letter. The decision, he claimed, had been taken not for political but safety reasons, as the new Tosca would have required RBO production staff to travel with it and set it up. And, he went on, although the Israeli company approached the RBO about hiring Tosca last December, no final agreement had been signed anyway. But that only raises more questions. Was safety not a factor last December? Why would the RBO consider sending staff into any hazardous part of the world at any time just to earn a few bob for the company? So those are the bolting horses. What about the slamming door? Well, here we need to scroll back to 2022, when many UK arts organisations (including the Royal Opera House) were decking themselves in yellow and blue and permitting their premises to be used for blatant (and indeed officially endorsed) political statements supporting Ukraine, condemning Putin's invasion and ostracising Russian performers seen as backing it. I'm not saying that was wrong. Quite the opposite. I wish it were still going on. But it was effectively an admission that, in certain circumstances, even publicly funded arts organisations could and should allow themselves to be used for political propaganda. Now that argument is being used against those same companies. 'If you encouraged protests supporting Ukraine,' activists ask, 'why not Palestine?' The response from Beard? 'Our support for Ukraine was aligned with the global consensus at the time. As the world's geopolitics have become more complex, our stance has changed to ensure that our actions reflect our purpose and values.' • Royal Ballet and Opera says Tosca cancelled in Israel after 'safety fears' In other words, 'it's more complicated now'. The invasion of Ukraine essentially united British opinion in condemnation. What is happening in Gaza, by contrast, has caused huge divisions in the arts, as everywhere else. Jewish performers and writers have been 'deplatformed' — most recently at this summer's Edinburgh Fringe. Jewish donors and charities have been made to feel so unwelcome that they are withdrawing their support from the UK arts scene — a massive loss. And, on the other side, the staff of many arts organisations, not just the RBO, seem determined to force their managements into cutting perceived links to Israel and making pro-Palestinian statements instead. Beard isn't the only arts leader caught in the crossfire. Just look at the Tate where, eight months ago, more than 1,000 artists and art workers signed a letter protesting about the gallery receiving donations from a foundation with Israeli links. When she was recently asked by The Times if the Tate will be issuing any statement about Gaza or Israel, its director Maria Balshaw declared firmly that 'it's not appropriate for us to be making public statements about a political situation which is not in our control'. • Royal Opera director: 'I've absorbed London's energy' But didn't the Tate, and many other arts organisations, do exactly that with Ukraine? 'The limits of what we can achieve through doing that only became apparent later,' Balshaw added. 'We learnt from that experience and don't do things like that now.' Which sounds very much like the boss of a stroppy workforce desperately trying to keep the lid on the dissent within her own ranks. And I'm sure that, up and down the land, many other arts leaders are in the same position as Beard and Balshaw — frantically trying to stick to the 'we don't do politics any more' line to keep the inflammatory subject of Israel and Palestine from entering their premises. Frankly, I don't blame them for trying. Meanwhile, Beard's political problems with that new Royal Opera production of Tosca are far from over. Singing the title role when the show opens at Covent Garden in September will be Anna Netrebko, the Russian soprano still banned by the Metropolitan Opera in New York because she is perceived as a Putin supporter (although Netrebko issued a statement in March 2022 condemning the war against Ukraine). It would be astonishing if her appearance didn't trigger protests in London. I wonder if the excitable Mears will have to leap on stage again, this time to remove an illicit Ukrainian flag at the curtain call.
The National
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Royal Ballet and Opera cancels Tel Aviv show after staff protest Gaza war
The Royal Ballet and Opera cancelled a planned performance in Tel Aviv after more than 182 members signed an open letter criticising Israel's recent actions 'in the context of the ongoing genocide in Gaza '. The members include dancers, singers, musicians and staff across several departments. Alex Beard, chief executive of the famed UK theatre company, confirmed the decision to The Guardian on Monday. 'I am appalled by the crisis in Gaza and recognise the deep emotional impact this has had across our community and wider society,' Beard said. The RBO was scheduled to stage Puccini's masterpiece Tosca in July. The Israeli Opera, which is hosting the production, still lists the show on its website, but has removed all references to the RBO. The open letter from RBO members comes after a viral July 19 incident when a brief scuffle broke out at the Royal Opera House when a performer unfurled a Palestinian flag during a curtain call. In the clip, a man later identified as RBO's director of opera, Oliver Mears, can be seen trying to wrest the flag away from the performer, Daniel Perry. Perry later told The Times that Mears said he would be banned from performing at the Royal Opera House ever again. 'The events at the curtain call on July 19 were without precedent,' Beard told The Guardian. 'We have reflected carefully and reviewed our internal protocols. We always endeavour to act with integrity and compassion. We want our stage to remain a space for shared cultural appreciation, free from individual political statements.' In the strongly worded letter addressed to Beard and the board of RBO, members called for Mears 'to be held accountable for his public display of aggression'. His actions were 'far from being a neutral administrative intervention', they said, adding 'it sent a clear message that any visible solidarity with Palestine would be met with hostility'. Members also criticised the RBO for hiring out its production of another Puccini opera, Turandot, to the Israeli Opera, which ran across June and July. As reported in The Guardian, preparations for Turandot took place when the Israel-Iran war broke out, and rehearsals were held in bomb shelters, with at least one performer leaving the production. 'The decision cannot be viewed as neutral. It is a deliberate alignment, materially and symbolically, with a government currently engaged in crimes against humanity,' the members said. 'The venue itself, the Israeli Opera, publicly offers free tickets to soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces 'in recognition of their work', as stated on their website. The RBO is clearly making a strong political statement by allowing its production and intellectual property to be presented in a space that openly rewards and legitimises the very forces responsible for the daily killings of civilians in Gaza.' The members then demanded the RBO withhold productions 'from institutions that legitimise and economically support a state engaged in mass killing'. 'We organised concerts for Ukraine, we played the Ukrainian national anthem before performances, and we publicly displayed the Ukrainian flag as a gesture of solidarity with its people. We understood then that silence was unacceptable. Why is it different now? The double standard is deafening,' they said. In his statement to the The Guardian, Beard said he and the RBO board 'acknowledge and respect the full range of views held by our staff, artists and audiences'. 'Our support for Ukraine was aligned with the global consensus at the time,' he said. 'As the world's geopolitics have become more complex, our stance has changed to ensure that our actions reflect our purpose and values.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
People Are Welcoming Marjorie Taylor Greene To The Resistance After Her Surprising Statement About The Republican Party
Marjorie Taylor Greene is NOT happy with the Republican Party. She was pissed about the attack on Iran. Related: She broke ranks with Republicans and called the crisis in Gaza a "genocide." And she won't stop talking about how Republicans won't deal with the national debt. Now, she's talking about breaking up with the Republican Party. Related: In an interview with the Daily Mail, the congressmember said: "I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to Republican Party as much anymore. I don't know which one it is." She also said: "I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans." And finally, she criticized the way Republicans treat women: "I think there's other women in our party that are really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women." Related: Those anti-GOP quotes are going viral in a tweet by Brian Tyler Cohen: People in the replies are, like, duh: "What if she switches parties and becomes a normie dem," one person asked. Related: "Finally figuring this stuff out. Better late than never I suppose!" another person commented. And then the Lincoln Project invited her to the party: "Welcome to the resistance, Marge." As this person said, "Trumps presidency is so goddamn bad that it wokeified marjorie taylor green." Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marjorie Taylor Greene's Surprising Quote About The Republican Party Is Going Viral
Marjorie Taylor Greene is NOT happy with the Republican Party. She was pissed about the attack on Iran. Related: She broke ranks with Republicans and called the crisis in Gaza a "genocide." And she won't stop talking about how Republicans won't deal with the national debt. Now, she's talking about breaking up with the Republican Party. Related: In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Congress member said: "I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to Republican Party as much anymore. I don't know which one it is." She also said: "I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans." And finally, she criticized the way Republicans treat women: "I think there's other women in our party that are really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women." Related: Those anti-GOP quotes are going viral in a tweet by Brian Tyler Cohen: People in the replies are, like, duh: "What if she switches parties and becomes a normie dem," one person asked. Related: "I really never thought i'd see that day she was saying shit like this and uttering the word 'genocide'…" another person said in disbelief. And then the Lincoln Project invited her to the party: "Welcome to the resistance, Marge." As this person said, "Trumps presidency is so goddamn bad that it wokeified marjorie taylor green." Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Longtime Trump ally says she doesn't want ‘anything to do' with GOP
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent Republican and ally to President Donald Trump, has expressed deep frustrations and a growing rift with her political party. Greene has recently broken with the Republicans on several key issues, including condemning Israel's war in Gaza as 'genocide', opposing Trump's artificial intelligence executive order, and advocating for the release of the Epstein Files. She believes the Republican Party is abandoning policies geared towards ordinary Americans, such as stopping foreign aid, making cuts across the federal government, and driving down inflation. Greene said she is unsure if the party is leaving her or if she no longer relates to it, adding: 'The course that it's on, I don't want to have anything to do with it.' She also suggested that the GOP may be unpopular with conservative women due to how it treats them.
