Venice’s La Fenice theater drops incoming music director after months of protests

MILAN (AP) — Venice’s renowned La Fenice opera house is breaking ties with the controversial incoming music director with ties to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni following months of protests by musicians.

General manager Nicola Colabianchi cited Beatrice Venezi’s “repeated and serious public statements that were offensive and harmful” to the theater and its orchestra for the decision to cancel future collaboration, the theater’s foundation said Sunday.

Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said that he hoped the move would “clear misunderstandings, tensions and manipulations,” that had surrounded Venezi’s selection.

Musicians, singers and backstage hands had vociferously opposed her appointment, citing a lack of transparency and lack of experience necessary to lead the theater.

Their escalating protests included a strike that forced the cancellation of a performance and a march through Venice joined by workers from other opera houses, reflecting concerns of political interference in artistic decisions.

The audience and orchestra erupted in applause during a performance Sunday night at the news that Venezi’s appointment had been blocked, according to video circulated by Italian media.

Colabianchi, who appointed Venezi on Sept. 22, initially defended the move, saying her youth and dynamism would attract a younger audience to the theater. Giuli had also supported the move.

Venezi, 36, was appointed as an adviser to the culture minister after Meloni came to power in 2022. She previously was principal conductor of the Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti Young and guest conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana, and has conducted internationally, including in Armenia, Uruguay and Argentina.