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Venice’s prestigious La Fenice opera house is embroiled in controversy over the hiring of a conductor with close ties to Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
The theatre’s orchestra musicians and staff are calling for Beatrice Venezi’s appointment as music director to be revoked, claiming she does not have enough experience for the high-profile role and was picked only because of her government connections.
At the end of two concerts last weekend, the audience expressed solidarity by throwing dozens of leaflets into the air with the slogan “Music is art, not entertainment”.
Venezi, 35, whose father is a former member of Forza Nuova, a neofascist political party, is a music adviser at Italy’s culture ministry. She has worked with orchestras in Europe and beyond but those opposed to her recruitment say she has never conducted at La Fenice, apart from during a brief promotional event, or at any other major opera house.
Venezi is also known in Italy for appearing in TV adverts for a shampoo brand.
The opera house, however, has pushed back at critics. Announcing the appointment last week, Nicola Colabianchi, La Fenice’s general manager, said Venezi had been hired because “she is a very good conductor, and because she is a woman and already respected internationally at only 35”.
But the decision was immediately contested by the theatre’s orchestra musicians, who published an appeal addressed to Colabianchi criticising the lack of transparency in the recruitment process and claiming Venezi was not qualified for the role at such an esteemed Italian opera house.
In the letter published in the Italian press, the orchestra questioned Venezi’s national and international credentials, arguing she has “never conducted in the major international opera houses” and “nor has her name appeared on the billboards of the most important festivals in the world music scene”.
The letter was followed by La Fenice’s 300 staff warning of strikes and demonstrations “to defend the professionalism” of the theatre’s artists and “respect for democratic rules in the management” of its foundation.
Venezi did not reply to the Guardian’s request for comment.
She was also targeted last year by protesters shouting “No fascists at the opera” before conducting a New Year’s Day concert in the southern French city of Nice.
Venezi has never hidden her conservative values but said in an interview with HuffPost Italia in 2023 that she is “not a fascist” and only comes under attack because of her father’s political history.
Meloni has praised Venezi on several occasions, describing her as “a talented and courageous artist who refuses to bow to the dictatorship of thought and language”.
Political biases aside, Federico Capitoni, a music journalist, said Venezi ought to be judged purely on her credentials. “Her CV is not exactly exceptional and in my opinion, she only has herself to blame,” he said, citing the government role, collaborations with various cultural organisations and the shampoo ad. “Many artists run this risk … they take on roles in government or other organisations, taking time away from the kind of work that gives them prestige,” he added.
Colabianchi has tried to calm tensions by saying that Venezi, who is due to begin the role in 2026, will conduct only three times a year. Meanwhile, the opera house’s president, Luigi Brugnaro, has called a meeting at the theatre on 8 October in an attempt to “promote dialogue” and “find a solution”.
