Beatrice Venezi has been terminated from all future contracts at the Teatro La Fenice.

Superintendent of the Teatro La Fenice, Nicola Colabianchi, said, “The decision was reached in part as a result of repeated and grave public statements made by the Maestro—statements deemed offensive and detrimental to the artistic and professional standing of the Teatro La Fenice Foundation and its Orchestra. These assertions, with whose substance and expressed judgments the Foundation does not concur, are incompatible with the Foundation’s principles and with the protection and respect due to the members of the Orchestra.”

According to an the interview with La Nación, Venezi suggested that La Fenice names artists due to nepotism and said, “I have no patrons (…). I do not come from a family of musicians. And this is an orchestra in which positions are passed down practically from father to son. I do not belong to a family of musicians; I am a woman—36 years old—the first female conductor of La Fenice, and I want to bring about renewal.”

Following the news that Venezi had been fired, the audience at La Fenice during the closing performance of “Lohengrin” erupted in applause.

Ever since Venezi was named Music Director, controversy has followed the company’s headlines due to protests against the conductor, her closeness to Giorgia Meloni’s government, and her lack of experience with the theater. Several board members also resigned when  the conductor was officially confirmed in March.

 

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