by InTrieste
Staff at Venice’s renowned Teatro La Fenice staged a strike last Friday in protest over the appointment of Beatrice Venezi as the opera house’s new music director, leading to the cancellation of the season’s closing concert.
The unrest followed Venezi’s appointment last month to a four-year term set to begin in October 2026. Staff members have expressed concern that the 35-year-old conductor lacks sufficient experience for the role, noting that she has never conducted an opera at La Fenice or at any other major international opera house.
The controversy has also taken on a political dimension. Venezi has publicly expressed support for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and she previously served as a music adviser at the culture ministry after Meloni took office three years ago. Some staff members cited Venezi’s political connections as a factor in the appointment, though the former superintendent of La Fenice, Cristiano Chiarot, emphasized that the objection is based on professional qualifications, not political views.
B. Venezi at the Verdi theater in Trieste in January, 2025
Questions have also been raised about the transparency of the selection process. Staff members reported learning of Venezi’s appointment through the media, and critics noted that her father is a former member of the neofascist Forza Nuova party.
The theatre’s current superintendent, Nicola Colabianchi, defended the decision, calling Venezi “a very good conductor, and a woman already respected internationally at only 35.” Some observers, however, have suggested that political influence played a role in her selection, pointing to Colabianchi’s connections with Meloni and the conservative Atreju festival.
Venezi’s appointment received support from political leaders aligned with the center-right. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who is president of the Fenice foundation, and Veneto Governor Luca Zaia, a member of Meloni’s coalition partner Lega, both praised the selection. Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli described Venezi as “an excellent artist and conductor” and expressed confidence in her ability to meet the demands of the position, which would make her the first female music director in La Fenice’s history.
Public reaction has been mixed. Some ticket holders have threatened to cancel their subscriptions in protest, and an online petition calling for Venezi’s dismissal gathered more than 15,000 signatures.
Trade unions representing La Fenice staff confirmed that the strike went ahead on Friday, resulting in the cancellation of the first performance of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. A demonstration took place at Campo Sant’Angelo at 5:30 p.m., featuring a free concert by the Fenice Chorus and Orchestra and speeches from representatives of several national cultural institutions.
The dispute at La Fenice highlights broader tensions in Italy over the intersection of politics and culture, raising questions about the selection processes at the country’s most prestigious artistic institutions.
