Alexander Pereira, the former artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, the Zurich Opera House, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, has been convicted of embezzlement in Florence.

A court found Pereira guilty of charging private expenses to the opera house while he was artistic director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. As a result, he will receive a suspended sentence of 22 months. However, the verdict is not final.

Pereira was also accused of using around 35 million euros from a state cultural fund for an improper purpose, but the court found this accusation to be unproven.

Back in 2023, Pereira resigned from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino amid an ongoing fraud investigation into his use of the company’s credit card. Auditors questioned expenses of € 60,000 in 2021 and € 14,000 during the first four months of 2022. In May of 2022, La Repubblica reported that Prosecutor Mondera Acheropita had begun investigating the expenses, including a restaurant bill in Ibiza and visits to a butcher and greengrocer, among other shops. The police later Police confiscated over €126,000 from Pereira.

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