Thanks to Laura Gozzi and BBC Online News for the Headline
In the realms of what is happening in the World, perhaps the role of Opera seems irrelevant .
However in Italy , well specifically in Venice, at the Teatro La Fenice the appointment and then firing of a new music director has caused much of a furore.
In truth Beatrice Venezi had a bit of a pedigree to qualify for the job , she became an orchestra conductor at twenty two and has worked as a conductor in Italy and Internationally in Armenia, Uruguay and Argentina.
I say a bit of a pedigree, not enough for the old soaks who make up the Musician’s Union and basically the Orchestra which she accused of being “Nepotistic” and that La Fenice needed a thorough broom sweep to rid it of the passing on of orchestra positions to family members.
My experience is that music ability can be “genetic”, but that’s only an opinion and there’s always exceptions to rules. But Beatrice espousing her views on this with an Argentinian Newspaper has lead to her demise.
Hysterically, the fact that Beatrice has been friends with Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy has been one factor that has made her unpopular, as well as protests by the patrons of the La Fenice who left printed leaflets as recent performances with the “Music is Art , Not Entertainment.”
Well perhaps the real problem is finance, get ready to faint Covent Garden Opera Lovers, you can pick up tickets for La Fenice for under a Tenner. ( No pun intended). Perhaps Beatrice wanted to jazz the repertoire up a bit and raise prices, perhaps the old water logged Venitian Building needs updated. A possible venue for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Whatever, it’s never going to happen, it looks like the old soaks have won and people will continue to be able to afford to go and see the Opera, perhaps just as it was one hundred years ago or more. That I think is not a bad thing, particularly in Venice .
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
thenotsomightyom 