"The pandemic has given us the opportunity to win back the Italian public, and this is what we will have to focus on to reinvent ourselves when we return to normal". Fortunato Ortombina, Superintendent of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice since 2017 (of which he has already been artistic director since 2007), launches a message of hope from the world of culture which has certainly not slacked off in the last 12 months, despite all the difficulties: "From mid-June to the end of October we were open , albeit with reduced capacity (380 seats out of 1.000), and we sold out all 50 shows on the calendar, despite the absence of foreign audiences, which in the last decade represented 40-45% of the total”. The activity of the Fenice, among the first theaters to reopen last year and among the most active now despite the new restrictions, continued also in winter with three concerts a month broadcast in free live streaming on the Youtube channel: "We have almost 100.000 subscribers , more than the Scala in Milan: we are the first Italian opera house on Youtube. Some operas, such as Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso, have exceeded 400.000 views”.
Maestro, despite your success during the pandemic, like all theaters you have the problem of surviving. How did you organize yourselves?
“We came from a golden period, the one between 2018 and 2019, then at the end of 2019 we had the theater flooded due to high tide and then Covid arrived. For us it was a problem because unlike other theaters, 33% of our budget comes from the ticket office: 10 million euros from actual tickets, about 1 million from guided tours, because during the day the Fenice is also a museum. In the last year we have managed to get by thanks to the Single Fund for entertainment, contributions from local authorities and refreshments: in all we have raised around 22,5 million which allow us to float. Then there was the redundancy fund, which allows us to be off for a couple of weeks every month, safeguarding every single job. I said it right away: I want to get to the end of the pandemic without having sent anyone home".
Have you succeeded so far?
“Yes, as far as the 300 permanent employees of the theater are concerned, including offices. Unfortunately, however, some of the intermittent workers remained stationary. The situation is still difficult and will be even when we reopen, presumably around June. The admitted capacity will be 1/5, i.e. 200 seats, and then there are very stringent rules on the tests to be carried out for personnel, every 72 hours: that too is a cost and I believe that the rules will not change until at least February 2022 " .
And how did you manage to make the activity sustainable?
“It's about making choices. The redundancy fund helps us and then, for example, we decided, for live streaming which among other things are free therefore they only allow us to promote but not take the money, to represent only concerts and not operas, because the former have lower costs " .
Was the response still positive?
"Yes. In the live broadcasts, which we do at 17.30pm so as not to overlap with the news, in winter we got to involve up to 5.000 viewers live and then many others who retrieved their registration on the site. We have received messages of thanks from all over the world but above all we have won back the Italian public, which among other things, compared to the foreign one, is more inclined to listen to musical concerts and not just to see operas”.
Do you believe in digital channels also for the future?
“As a means of promotion yes, but not as an alternative to the live scene. The sold outs of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, show us that people have a desire for culture, for theater, and I trust that it will be like this also after, even if we need to see what economic consequences Covid will have left on the possibilities of families. But I want to remind you that after the First World War, about a century ago, in 1918 people rushed back to fill the theaters. It's true that then there weren't TV and cinema and the internet like now, but romantically I want to imagine a similar response”.
Focusing on the Italian public, given that international tourism will be the last to leave.
"Absolutely. In the last decade, after the 2008 crisis, we have focused heavily on foreign audiences, especially French and American. At the time we thought: we must react by producing more, not being satisfied with the historic Venetian season ticket holders. Thus, compared to the early 80s when Italian viewers were XNUMX%, the proportion has almost equaled. However, this great international success was in turn a driving force to intrigue and make the local public grow again, on which we must focus in the coming years, waiting to understand how world tourism will recover. I also said it recently to Minister Franceschini: the international resonance and the new interest on the part of the Italian public are proof that we have well spent the public money that is given to us to spread culture in Italy. We seem to be succeeding."
Vaccines are decisive for the recovery and reopening, even of theatres. Have you made yourself available?
“Of course, we have given the willingness to get vaccinated in the theatre, but for understandable logistical reasons I don't think this can happen before July. Now it is right that priority should be given to the categories most at risk".
A final reflection on Venice, which has just celebrated its 1.600th birthday. The images of the deserted city, without the usual crowd of tourists, have gone around the world. What air do you breathe?
“When I was a child, going to Venice was considered a luxury even if you came from Mantua, my hometown. Before the pandemic, on the other hand, organizing yourself in time with 500 euros you came and went from Los Angeles. This facility has exploded tourism and I don't think Covid will stop the charm of Venice in the world: already last summer the city was filled up again, and so it will be after. However, the pandemic also requires us to reflect to imagine a more sustainable tourism. As for the Fenice, I can say that it is a fundamental engine of economic movement for Venice, perhaps the only one really active today. When I stop in a bar to have a coffee, now only to take away, the exhibitors often recognize me and ask me: 'When will you reopen?', because the life of the theater consequently helps that of bars and restaurants. Some even ask very detailed questions, to get a precise idea: 'What day will you reopen? At what time? With what show?'.”
Do ordinary people stop it too?
"Yes, and it is proof that there is a great desire for culture, for theatre, to go back to life as before".
