Protests held as Italy's La Scala opens season with Russian opera

Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo

Milan's La Scala theatre opened its 2022-2023 opera season on Wednesday with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov" as protesters against the Ukrainian war demonstrated outside the venue.

The opera won a 13-minute ovation from an audience that included Italy's new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella and the European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen.