General Director of the Teatro alla Scala Dominque Meyer has condemned the booing against soprano Anna Netrebko at the opening of the Teatro alla Scala in “La Forza del Destino.”

Following a performance that was met with healthy applause after the soprano’s three arias, Netrebko was met with boos at her curtain call. Meyer responded that it was “ridiculous to boo because she was Russian.” He added, “We need to understand something, that singers like Anna Netrebko come once in a generation.”

The soprano said, “No one booed after my arias.″

Before the performance, a dozen Ukrainian activists protested Netrebko’s inclusion in the opening night and said she was Putin’s accomplice, citing that the soprano was no longer performing at the Paris Opera (she performed last season), the Metropolitan Opera, and the Royal Opera House. Netrebko has condemned the war in Ukraine on three occasions and opened the Teatro alla Scala’s 2023-24 season in “Don Carlo.”

The evening also saw pro-Palestinian protests outside La Scala with manure thrown on the street with photos of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, and the Minister for Infrastructure Matteo Salvini. There were also signs reading, “War is a shit show” and “Genocide is a shit show.” Meloni, who was set to attend the performance decided to attend the reopening of Notre Dame and as a result, was not in Italy.

The opening night, however, did get a 12-minute standing ovation. “La Forza del Destino” is set to run through Jan. 2, 2025.