The theatre has admonished the performer for holding up the flag, saying that it doesn’t align with its “commitment to political impartiality.”

A cast member unfurled a Palestine flag during an encore for Il Trovatore at the Royal Opera House on Saturday (19 July), with staff immediately trying to snatch it away. In a video published online, the performer resisted attempts to have the flag removed in what was described by one audience member as “extraordinary scenes”.

A cast member unfurls a Palestinian flag during a curtain call, prompting a brief scuffle as an official tried to take it away.