Even at a time of war, the show must go on. That appeared to be the message as Italy’s most treasured opera house, Teatro alla Scala, opened its new season with the Russian opera “Boris Godunov,” against the backdrop of Ukrainian protests that the cultural event is a propaganda win for the Kremlin during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The Italian premier, Giorgia Meloni, in her first cultural outing since taking office, attended La Scala’s gala premiere at Milan, joining the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in the royal box.

A group of about 30 Ukrainians gathered outside the theater to protest the idea of highlighting Russian culture while President Putin wages a war rooted in the denial of Ukrainian culture. They were kept across the main piazza, far from any interaction with arriving dignitaries and officials, and politics did not enter the theater.

The crowd of mostly prominent figures from Italian business, culture, and politics showered the production with 13 minutes of applause. The loudest praise was reserved for the Russian bass in the title role, Ildar Abdrazakov, and there was a cascade of flowers for the chief conductor, Riccardo Chailly.

Asked about Ukrainians’ objection to putting a spotlight on Russian culture as war rages in its 10th month, Ms. von der Leyen praised Ukrainians as “fantastic, brave, and courageous people,” but said that Russian culture should not be conflated with Mr. Putin.

“We should not allow Putin to destroy all this,” Ms. von der Leyen said, referring to great Russian writers and composers, including the author of “Boris Godunov,” Modest Petrovic Musorgsky. She added: “Full solidarity with our friends in Ukraine, and let’s make sure that we stand together.”

Ms. Meloni, who has maintained Italy’s support for Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression, also sought to draw a line between culture and politics. “We don’t have anything against the Russian people, Russian history, Russian culture,” she said. “We have something against those who have made the political choice to invade a sovereign country.”

A letter of protest from Ukraine’s consul in Milan and a petition by the Ukrainian diaspora failed to persuade the theater to drop “Boris Godunov.” La Scala officials say Mr. Chailly chose the opera as the 2022-23 season opener three years ago at Mr. Abdrazakov’s suggestion, and it was too late to substitute the production.

Mr. Abdrazakov was heralded for his sixth La Scala season premiere performance, the first in his native language, leading a mostly Russian cast along with La Scala’s chorus.

“I have sung here in Italian, in French, once in Italian, but in Russian, it is another thing entirely. And then, this opera, I adore it very much,” the singer said backstage.

The Danish director, Kasper Holten, said he sought to emphasize the opera’s message about “the cynicism of power,” which he said remains relevant more than 150 years after it was written. In Mr. Holten’s staging, Godunov is haunted by the bloody presence of the child prince he killed to become tsar, and then has to confront bloody depictions of his own cherished children, foreshadowing their own fate.

“This is sadly a reminder to us that wherever there’s a lust for power, it’s also the language of blood,” Mr. Holten said backstage.

La Scala management has insisted that “Boris Godonov” was not propaganda for Mr. Putin. Still, Russian media widely reported on the production, focusing on officials’ dismissals of the Ukrainian protests. Russian state TV was also on hand for opening night.

Some  Ukrainian organizations, including a youth association, decided against physically joining the protest despite objections to the Russian production. Instead, they gathered silently in the piazza, holding sheet music written by a Ukrainian composer.

La Scala management has emphasized its support of Ukraine, including a benefit concert that raised $421,000. La Scala was also the first theater in the West to cut off relations with a Russian conductor, Valery Gergiev, who was engaged at the Milan theater when the war broke out, after he failed to express a desire for a peaceful solution.

The gala season opener, which is held on the December 7 holiday for Milan’s patron, Saint Ambrose, is one of the top events on the European cultural calendar, and often attracts protests aimed at grabbing the attention of Italian movers and shakers in attendance.

In that tradition, climate protesters early Wednesday threw paint on the opera house’s columns to promote more urgent actions to curb climate change. The paint was quickly removed.