The board of Rome's Opera House
has voted to sack the choir and orchestra, replacing them with
outsourced artists, Mayor Ignazio Marino announced Thursday.
"The move will affect 182 staff out of 460, and does not
involve the remaining 278," Marino said.
"This was a tough decision to make," said Opera General
Manager Carlo Fuortes. "The only other alternative was shutting
the theater down altogether".
This is the first ever collective sacking of choir and
orchestra in Italy, Fuortes added.
"It's an innovative move in Italy, but very much in use in
the rest of Europe," he said, adding the move will save the
opera an estimated 3.4 million euros.
The opera house was in disarray after iconic conductor
Riccaro Muti abruptly quit last month, citing labour strife,
mismanagement and cash problems which he said deprived him of
the necessary "serenity" to work.
The capital's opera house had come off a long hot summer in
which strike action disrupted performances after artists and
management failed to reach a contract agreement.
The opera lost 12.9 million euros last year and the strikes
caused losses of some 300,000 euros during the summer, Marino
said.
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