Aysu Bicer
04 August 2025•Update: 04 August 2025
LONDON
The Royal Opera House pulled its upcoming production of Tosca from the Israeli National Opera’s 2026 season in Tel Aviv, following internal pressure from its own staff over Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza.
The decision, communicated to Royal Ballet and Opera employees on Aug. 1, marks a striking moment of institutional response to mounting calls for a cultural boycott over what workers described as Israeli “genocide” in Gaza.
Alex Beard, chief executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera, informed staff that “we have made the decision that our new production of Tosca will not be going to Israel,” according to Artists for Palestine UK, which has been in contact with those inside the organization.
The Israeli National Opera has since removed all references to the Royal Opera House from its website.
The move follows an open letter signed by 182 Royal Ballet and Opera employees, including dancers, musicians, singers, and staff from artistic, technical, and administrative departments, condemning the organization's silence on Israel's genocidal conduct, which has killed over 60,000 Palestinians.
“We reject any current or future performances in Israel,” the letter reads, demanding that the company “withhold our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.”
Signatories called on management to act with moral clarity, stating: “As an organization of global standing, with the power to shape discourse and influence cultural values, we have a responsibility to act ethically.”
The letter also expressed solidarity with a performer who raised the Palestinian flag on stage in what they described as “an act of courage and moral clarity on our very stage.”
While the Royal Opera House has not issued a public statement, the internal announcement to staff suggests a rare instance in which the leadership of a major British cultural institution has acted swiftly in response to grassroots pressure from within.
“This is a welcome breakthrough for institutional accountability—and a victory for grassroots organizing,” said a spokesperson for Artists for Palestine UK.
“Across the cultural sector too many institutions, faced with genocide, have opted for silence or worse. The RBO staff’s open letter is an essential ethical uprising against this refusal to speak out.”
The protest at the Royal Opera comes amid a broader wave of action across the UK cultural sector.
British artists, writers, and cultural workers have launched campaigns demanding boycotts, divestments, and public statements from leading institutions. Some campaigns have faced resistance, including censorship or blacklisting.
According to Artists for Palestine UK, the Royal Opera’s move is the first of its kind at this level.
Never before have workers at one of Britain’s most prestigious cultural institutions mobilized in such numbers over a political crisis—and never has the management responded so decisively, it said.
