Calgary Opera replaces performer who unfurled Palestinian flag during Tosca bow - CBC

Calgary·NewOn Friday, the bass singer Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega held up the flag at the end of Giacomo Puccini's drama about love and betrayal during political upheaval in Napoleonic Rome. Actor playing escaped political prisoner says he has 'no regrets'Alex Nino Gheciu · The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 19, 2026 3:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega, right, holds up a Palestinian flag during the curtain call of the political opera Tosca on Oct. 16, 2026. Sanchez-Ortega, who had been playing an escaped political prisoner, was removed from the production by Calgary Opera, which said individual political protest was a violation of company policy. (Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega/Instagram)The Calgary Opera has replaced a performer who unfurled a Palestinian flag during the curtain call of the political opera Tosca.

Open this photo in gallery:Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Calgary, in May, 2024. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian PressThe Calgary Opera has replaced bass singer Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega as the character of Cesare Angelotti in its run of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca after the vocalist unfurled a Palestinian flag during curtain call last Friday. The opera company issued a statement on the weekend confirming that “a cast member displayed a flag” at Friday’s opening night performance, and that it was “unexpected and unauthorized.” On Saturday, Mr. Sanchez-Ortega shared a video on his Instagram profile of the moment, which shows him revealing a Palestinian flag onstage. “I have no regrets,” he wrote in a since expired Instagram story screenshotted by the Opera Wire blog. “This is the state of cultural institutions in Canada. I was informed that financial threats have been made against Calgary Opera. I hold no resentment.”In a further statement sent to The Globe and Mail on Monday, the Calgary Opera said that it prohibits personal protest on its stages and at its events and that the display of any protest symbol would have similar consequences.

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