by InTrieste
Venice’s Teatro La Fenice has ended its planned collaboration with conductor Beatrice Venezi, abruptly cancelling what had been set to become her appointment as music director later this year.
In a statement released on Sunday, the opera house said it was terminating “all future collaborations” with Ms. Venezi. The decision, signed by superintendent and artistic director Nicola Colabianchi, cited public remarks by the conductor that the institution said were damaging and incompatible with its values and with respect owed to its orchestra.
The announcement came during a performance of Wagner’s Lohengrin, with members of the orchestra and chorus reportedly learning of the decision between acts.
The dispute followed a series of recent interviews in which Ms. Venezi criticized what she described as entrenched internal dynamics within the orchestra and suggested that positions were often inherited within families. She had also previously described the theater as overly influenced by unions and characterized its working environment in negative terms.
La Fenice said those comments were incompatible with its principles of artistic collaboration and mutual respect. The decision was quickly supported by Italy’s Ministry of Culture, which expressed confidence in the superintendent and hope that the move would help ease tensions around the institution.
Within the orchestra, union representatives welcomed the decision, describing it as a collective affirmation of the musicians’ position after months of internal debate over leadership and governance. The appointment of Ms. Venezi had already been controversial and had prompted resignations and political scrutiny.
The episode leaves La Fenice without a designated music director and highlights ongoing divisions over the future direction of one of Italy’s most prominent opera houses.
Beatrice Venezi has often been welcomed at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, and it remains an open question whether this latest development will bring her back there more frequently in the future.
