Thirty Israeli Boycott campaign activists gathered Monday at the entrance to the Tel Aviv Opera House in protest of Cape Town Opera playing Porgy and Bess. The activists made a sudden flash-mob performance of two revised versions of Summertime and It Ain’t Necessarily So.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wElyrFOnKPk[/youtube]
The protest was organized following a massive campaign of Palestinians, Israelis and South Africans, who called upon the Cape Town Opera House to cancel its planned trip to Israel, and abide by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) 2005 call for Boycott Sanctions and Divestment from Israel in demand of full rights for Palestinians.
Like the boycott of South Africa, artists play an important role in this boycott movement. Prominent artists such as the Pixies, Elvis Costello and Roger Waters have declared that they are not willing to perform in Israel under current conditions of oppression and inequality.
It was therefore particularly troubling to hear of a Cape Town opera that decided to perform in Tel Aviv, with no other play than Porgy and Bess. Nobel Peace Prize winning Archbishop Desmond Tutu commented on this insult to both Palestinians and South African liberation legacy by saying that “to perform Porgy and Bess, with its universal message of non-discrimination, in the present state of Israel, is unconscionable.” And so, as the opera did not heed the calls to join the boycott, Israeli activists decided to remind the singers as well as the audience just what Porgy and Bess is all about. Timed to occur half an hour before the Opera’s Premier, a flash-mob of thirty singers and dancers, backed by a bass, a clarinet and harmonica, started singing new and updated versions of Summertime and It Ain’t Necessarily So – two of Gershwin’s most well known pieces from the opera.
After singing in both English and Hebrew, activists began to scatter, but were surprised that in spite of the harsh words of the songs – they were received with a round of applause, and several opera lovers even chased them and asked for a repeat of the show. After the second show activists left the scene, intending to come back every now and then for so long as the Cape Town Opera is still here.