La Fenice, Beatrice Venezi dismissed. P. Chigi: Meloni not involved

"This is a delicate affair, which must be addressed with balance and a sense of responsibility. It brings to a close a phase that has generated concern and tension, and that from the outset would have required greater attention, listening and involvement from the city of Venice and its institutions. La Fenice is not just any place: it is a cultural heritage of the city, the Veneto region and the country. This is why every choice concerning the theatre must be made with seriousness, respect, and full awareness of the value of its history, its orchestra, its professionals, and all the people who contribute to its artistic and international quality every day," declared Simone Venturini, candidate for mayor of Venice for the centre-right, commenting on the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice's decision. "Now I believe it is necessary to look ahead," Venturini continued, "and start again with a maximum sense of responsibility

The decision 'finally puts a stop to an affair that started badly and continued worse. It is the decision I have been hoping for since I became a candidate. I have said it many times and I will say it again today: La Fenice needed to reset a series of wrong choices and start again in a more serene logic based on sharing, which would make it possible to protect the great professionalism of an orchestra that is loved all over the world and return our Grand Theatre to the international status that it deserves and is due". Thus Andrea Martella, in the field for the centre-left in the challenge to the City Council. 'The whole affair,' adds Martella, 'was marked by a wrong method, starting with the arrogant attitude of president-mayor Brugnaro. It was necessary to lower the tension and respectfully re-establish dialogue, not to fuel opposition and forcing that has brought nothing good to the theatre'.

'Now I hope,' concludes Martella, 'that this decision will allow the focus to return to what really matters: to fully valorise the excellence that La Fenice represents, in Venice and in the world, and to protect its prestige from arrogant and friendly operations that the right wing has risked making our Grand Theatre pay dearly for'.

Palazzo Chigi also intervened on the matter with a note. "What is reported today in an article in the Corriere della Sera about the decision of the La Fenice Theatre in Venice to cancel all future collaborations with Maestro Venezi is without foundation: the Prime Minister has not been involved in any way on the issue and therefore could not have given any 'green light', as instead claimed".