Teatro La Fenice Sacks Incoming Music Director Beatrice Venezi Over Nepotism Remarks

Teatro La Fenice in Venice has sacked its incoming music director, Beatrice Venezi, months before she was supposed to take up the position, after she made remarks in an interview that angered musicians.

“Beatrice Venezi non avrà più alcun incarico alla Fenice di Venezia”

ANSA

Reuters and the BBC describe Venezi, 36, as having insinuated that jobs in the opera orchestra were “practically passed down from father to son,” with the BBC quoting her saying, “I have no godfathers. That is the difference. I do not come from a family of musicians,” and adding that those who opposed her were “afraid of change, of renewal.”

ANSA

The Violin Channel and Guardian both report that La Fenice Foundation moved to cancel future collaborations, with the Guardian saying the foundation decided to “cancel all future collaborations” with the 36-year-old conductor and pianist.

AP similarly reports that general manager Nicola Colabianchi cited Venezi’s “repeated and serious public statements that were offensive and harmful” for the decision to cancel future collaboration.

The BBC adds that Venezi’s appointment had been marred in controversy since it was announced last September, and that in October the workers’ union called a strike to protest her appointment.

In the same reporting, La Fenice’s decision is tied directly to the content of Venezi’s public comments, with the BBC saying the theatre announced she was sacked due to “repeated and serious public statements, which were offensive and damaging to the artistic and professional standing” of the theatre and its orchestra.

Venezi’s dismissal is rooted in what she said about hiring and the culture inside La Fenice’s orchestra, with multiple outlets quoting her directly and describing how her remarks were received.

The BBC reports that in an interview with an Argentine daily, Venezi insinuated that jobs were “practically passed down from father to son,” and it quotes her saying, “I do not come from a family of musicians,” while also saying those opposed to her were “afraid of change, of renewal.”

AP News

The Violin Channel provides a longer account of her argument in the interview with La Nacion Argentina, including her statement: “I don’t have any godfathers, that's the difference,” and her continuation that “this is an orchestra where positions are practically passed down from father to son.”

She also framed the issue as generational and gendered, telling the Violin Channel: “I’m a woman, 36 years old, the first female conductor of La Fenice, and I want to bring about change.”

The Guardian similarly quotes her saying, “I don’t have any godfathers, that’s the difference,” and adds that she said “They’re afraid of change, of renewal.”

In the same Guardian account, Venezi also claimed that “Orchestra members “never leave the island” of Venice, Venezi added, and didn’t know how to attract younger audiences,” connecting her nepotism remarks to a broader critique of audience reach.

Reactions to Venezi’s firing span La Fenice’s management, unions, and Italy’s culture ministry, with each side using sharply different language about what the decision means.

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The Violin Channel quotes a statement from the RSU (Unitary Union Representation) of the Gran Teatro La Fenice, saying it expresses “profound dismay and disappointment” at Venezi’s statements and calling them “serious, false, and offensive statements that undermine the professionalism, merit, and dignity of the musicians of the La Fenice Orchestra.”

That same statement argues the musicians are “top-level professionals selected exclusively through international public competitions based on talent and rigorous procedures,” and it says Venezi’s remarks constitute “a direct attack on the very identity of our Foundation.”

AP reports that La Fenice’s unions welcomed the decision, calling it “a necessary act of respect” and underlining that the theater’s professionalism had been “subject to serious, unfounded public statements damaging to the dignity of labor.”

On the management side, the Violin Channel says Superintendent Nicola Colabianchi dismissed Venezi and canceled all future collaborations, quoting the foundation’s rationale that the decision was made after “The Maestro’s repeated and serious public statements, which were offensive and detrimental to the artistic and professional value of the La Fenice Theater Foundation and its orchestra.”

Italy’s government response is also quoted, with the Guardian reporting that Meloni’s office denied Corriere della Sera’s claim that she authorized the sacking, saying it was “completely unfounded” and that she “was not involved in any way, and so could not have given any green light to the decision.”

Beyond the nepotism accusation itself, outlets describe a wider dispute about whether Venezi’s appointment was influenced by politics tied to Giorgia Meloni, and they report competing claims about that influence.

The BBC says “Many alleged that Venezi - an unusually young and relatively inexperienced director - was only given the prestigious role because of her proximity with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,” and it adds that Venezi is “the daughter of a former leader of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova party.”

Corriere del Veneto

The BBC also reports that Meloni’s office issued a statement denying a newspaper report that she had authorised Venezi’s sacking, with Daily Corriere della Sera saying Meloni had green-lit the sacking due to “the accumulation of controversy” around the new director.

The Guardian goes further in describing the opposition’s view, saying Venezi’s appointment last September was “strongly opposed” by musicians who claimed she was picked only because of her close connections with Italy’s far-right government, headed by Giorgia Meloni.

AP similarly frames the dispute as protests over “concerns of political interference in artistic decisions,” describing that musicians, singers and backstage hands opposed her appointment and that their escalating protests included “a march through Venice joined by workers from other opera houses.”

At the same time, ANSA reports that Palazzo Chigi said it was “privo di ogni fondamento quanto riportato in un articolo del Corriere della Sera” and that the prime minister was “privo di ogni fondamento” involved, while Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said the decision was an “atto insindacabile” and that the government “non avrebbe potuto avere e in generale non intende avere alcuna facoltà di condizionamento.”

The fallout from La Fenice’s decision includes immediate public reaction at the theatre, as well as continued argument over how the process was handled and what Venezi claims she endured.

“Offenses to the Foundation and the Orchestra: Why La Fenice Fired Beatrice Venezi The appointment was canceled after seven months of controversy and an interview in which she spoke of 'positions passed down from father to son”

Corriere del Veneto

AP reports that “The audience and orchestra erupted in applause during a performance Sunday night at the news that Venezi’s appointment had been blocked,” and it also notes that Colabianchi, who appointed Venezi on Sept. 22, initially defended the move by saying her youth and dynamism would attract a younger audience.

Corriere della Sera

The Violin Channel and OperaWire both describe the closing-performance context, with OperaWire saying that after the news “the audience at La Fenice during the closing performance of “Lohengrin” erupted in applause.”

RaiNews presents Venezi’s counter-narrative, saying she learned from ANSA that the foundation decided to cancel all future collaborations and that she said: “For months I have been bullied; the decision needs to be clarified.”

RaiNews also quotes her claim that she “refrains from commenting on the propriety of the process,” while reiterating: “I have never failed to show respect for the workers of any theater, and I never will, unlike what I have received from the workers of La Fenice in the last eight months, who have constantly and systematically defamed, slandered, insulted and bullied me, on social media, newspapers, TV, in Italy and around the world.”

ANSA adds that the decision came after another controversy involving Venezi’s interview with La Naciòn, and it reports that protests had included a shouted call “Colabianchi dimettiti!” followed by “una pioggia di volantini lanciati dai loggioni” during a concert in Campo Sant'Angelo on April 24.