Carlos Fuortes, the recently named superintendent of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, has been sentenced to one to four years over the accidental death of a theatre worker at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in 2017.

A Rome court also ruled that there would be a 220,000 euro penalty for violation of the legislation on safety at work. The penalty would have to be paid to the family of the victim.

In addition to Fuortes’ sentence, the owner of the theater was also sentenced.

In 2017, a worker died a few days after falling from a ladder while carrying out a cleaning of the stage ‘pit.

In a statement, Fuorte’s lawyer Alessandro Gamberini said, “A disconcerting sentence for which we will appeal. A sentence that condemns Fuortes for a death at work but not due to a risk at work. A death that occurred because the worker slipped from the first step of the ladder and had a blood alcohol level of 1.3g/l in his blood. The reason why he slipped is linked to his blood alcohol level.”