La Scala performers and workers call for Gaza cease-fire before opera-ballet set in conflict

Just before an opera-ballet set in conflict, La Scala’s principal dancer Roberto Bolle, general manager Dominique Meyer and other members of the dance company, orchestra and stage crew faced the audience as the curtain rose. The sentiment referring to the war in Gaza received a standing ovation lasting at least two minutes Saturday evening before the final performance of the opera house's original production “Madina.” In a title role performed by La Scala ballerina Antonella Albano, Madina repents at the last minute and throws down her suicide vest inside a crowded Moscow café.