The Royal Theater has been forced to suspend this Sunday's performance of
Un ballo in maschera,
Verdi's opera with which the Madrid Coliseum inaugurated the season last Friday, due to a large public protest motivated by the lack of social distance.
As one of the attendees has told EL PAÍS, who had seats in one of the last floors, where seats are cheaper, in that area there were up to 15 seats in a row occupied and the spectators showed their displeasure to the ushers as soon as they saw that there were no separate seats among those who came separately.
In a statement, the institution assures that there was a capacity of 51.5%, that is, 905 occupied towns.
The atmosphere was heating up and many of them began to kick and clap their hands to show their discontent.
The row reached such a point that those responsible for the theater decided to announce over the public address system that the function would be delayed so that whoever wanted could leave the room and demand the return of the tickets, which caused a collapse in the lobby that even caused the policeman.
“There were no complaint forms, they had to go to the offices to print them.
In the stalls you could see some closed seats, but on the upper floors, where we are all much closer together, there were entire lines of 15 people in a row.
It's unpresentable, a lot of older people come here and they should take it into account ”, summarizes one of the spectators.
The theater has not yet been able to specify whether the level of occupancy was the same in all areas.
Another spectator with subscription in the first rows of the stalls affirms that there were no closed seats there either.
“The entire line was busy, there was not a free spot, we were like lice.
And that is the most expensive area of the theater.
I went back with my companion, where it seemed that there was more space, ”he tells this newspaper.
According to the testimony of this assistant, after the theater announced that the price of the tickets would be returned to whoever requested it, the orchestra went out to the pit to begin the performance.
The overture sounded and the first singers came out, but the booing was such that finally the musical director, Nicola Luisotti, left his post and the performance was canceled.
According to the theater statement, the teacher made up to two attempts to continue the performance, but "a very small group insisted on continuing with their protests to boycott the performance, so it had to be suspended, around 9:10 pm."
The regulations of the Community of Madrid allow a capacity of up to 75%, a figure that in practice does not allow establishing a safety distance between all spectators.
As reported by the general director of the Teatro Real, Ignacio García-Belenguer, at the press conference to present the production, the coliseum had decided not to sell more than 65% so that the public would feel safer.
Many other attendees have expressed their indignation on social networks.
Among them was the writer Rosa Montero, who has related it like this on her Twitter account: “The opera del Real is suspended due to the protests caused by the overcrowding of people.
I was and has been sad.
Total lack of distance.
And right now, with 37 restricted areas!
We love opera but not like this ”.
The Royal Theater has reported that it will open an investigation "to find out this unfortunate incident and will take the necessary measures so that the successive functions develop normally".
The Madrid Coliseum was the first opera house in the world to reopen after the closure due to the coronavirus and has also led to the gala to be a pioneer in the creation of protocols to safely resume artistic activity while the pandemic lasts.