La Scala performers and workers call for Gaza cease-fire before opera-ballet set in conflict
By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press
MILAN (AP) — 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. It revealed a banner with the imperative: “Cease fire.” The sentiment received a standing ovation lasting at least two minutes Saturday evening before the final performance of the opera-ballet “Madina.” It tells a fictional story of a Chechen woman who is persuaded to become a suicide bomber after members of her family are murdered and she is raped by Russian soldiers.
