“We love Dostoyevsky because he knew that for every crime there is a punishment,” one poster said. A red and black placard with a swastika and the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the inscription “Stop the wars, stop Russia, stop Putin” was also waved.
Many demonstrators carried the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine. “This demonstration is not directed once morest culture, but once morest propaganda,” said one of the organizers. “We are once morest the opening of the Scala season with a Russian opera, which might be exploited by the Russian regime,” said one demonstrator.
La Scala experiences a restless season opener. Five members of Italy’s climate group ‘Ultima Generazione’ (Last Generation, UG) were arrested by Milan police on Wednesday following they spilled blue paint on the theater’s facade ahead of the Scala premiere. This is the latest in a series of controversial protests the group has been staging in Italy to highlight the need to tackle the climate crisis.
The five activists were reported, the police said. The Scala staff cleaned the facade of the theater. The season opening is planned for Wednesday evening in the presence of the Italian Head of State Sergio Mattarella, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
On November 18, four activists sprinkled eight kilos of flour on a car decorated by Andy Warhol at an exhibition of works by the famous pop artist and then taped their hands to it. Unlike similar incidents around the world, the plant was not protected by protective glass.
Climate activists are currently making headlines with pasting campaigns or attacks on works of art. In November, the famous painting “Death and Life” by Gustav Klimt, which was protected by glass, was covered with oil in Vienna’s Leopold Museum. One of the activists also stuck his hand to the protective glass. Tomato soup had previously been thrown at the famous work “Sunflowers” by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery in London. This work was also protected by a pane of glass.
