Venice's storied La Fenice opera house protests appointment of musical director with ties to Meloni

VENICE, Italy -- The storied Venetian opera location La Fenice is embroiled successful a quality with its orchestra and chorus implicit the assignment of a young and telegenic philharmonic manager with ties to Premier Giorgia Meloni but nary with the musicians she has been hired to conduct.

La Fenice’s wide manager, Nicola Colabianchi, who joined the theatre successful March, has defended his prime of 35-year-old Beatrice Venezi, saying her youthful vigor volition bring a caller assemblage to the theatre wherever Giuseppe Verdi premiered ‘’Rigoletto’’ and ‘’La Traviata’’ much than 170 years ago.

“She’s young and dynamic, she’s already written respective books and she’s conducted galore orchestras. She’s a idiosyncratic who attracts a large woody of media attention. So each of this volition lone bring attraction to the theatre and the theater’s future,'' Colabianchi said successful an interview. ”We can’t deliberation the theatre tin past with 80-year-old play summons holders.’’

In the six weeks since Venezi’s appointment, effectual adjacent October, was announced by La Fenice connected societal media, striking workers forced the cancellation of an opera premiere and unions person called for Colabianchi’s resignation.

Another protestation was planned for Monday, backed by different Italian opera houses successful solidarity.

Critics accidental Venezi doesn’t person the requisite acquisition for a theatre of La Fenice’s profile, wherever famed conductors Arturo Toscanini, Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti person lifted their batons. They besides suggest the prime was influenced by Venezi’s ties to Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy.

Venezi has not publically commented connected the La Fenice dispute, and canceled a nationalist quality to debar polemics.

She is the girl of a salient subordinate of Forza Nuova, different hard-right party, and has identified with the right’s blimpish values. However, she told the regular La Stampa successful 2023 that she was “offended erstwhile they telephone maine a small fascist.’’

La Fenice’s unions accidental they are not contesting Venezi’s youth, sex oregon governmental leanings, but the deficiency of consultations with the musicians whom she indispensable lead. They enactment that Colabianchi had pledged an unfastened process conscionable days earlier Venezi’s assignment was announced.

The philharmonic manager “gives the theatre its philharmonic imprint,’’ said Paolo Bertoldo, a percussionist successful La Fenice’s orchestra and a national leader.

“When you take a idiosyncratic for this role. you usually take idiosyncratic who tin conception a relation with the creator crew. If you shot manager doesn’t enactment good with the players, the squad won’t person results.’’

La Fenice’s unions person asked Colabianchi to revoke Venezi’s appointment, and relaunch the enactment process, allowing the musicians clip to enactment with and go acquainted with immoderate candidates, Venezi included. They besides person demanded Colabianchi's resignation.

Colabianchi, for his part, has apologized for hiring Venezi without much consultations, but helium remains steadfast successful his choice.

‘’I chose Beatrice Venezi due to the fact that I had invited her, portion I was the wide manager successful Caglieri, for 3 abstracted operas, and she was a immense success,'' Colabianchi said, adding she has a wide repertoire of much than 50 operas. "She is young, and we request to beforehand the young; she is simply a woman, and we request to beforehand women.’’

He said determination was nary question of his resigning and that helium would bring Venezi to the theatre arsenic soon arsenic the protests against her assignment cease. Her archetypal assignment to behaviour with the afloat orchestra would beryllium successful July, for a performance successful St. Mark’s Square, though others could beryllium added earlier, Colabianchi said.

“There is tons of clip to get to cognize each other, to verify. You can’t make polemics against idiosyncratic without knowing them, conscionable due to the fact that of what you hear,’’ Colabianchi said.