Venice's theater rises from ashes
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La Fenice opera house smolders after the 1996 fire.
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VENICE, Italy (Reuters) -- Almost eight years after Venetians watched their beloved opera house burn to the ground, La Fenice is finally ready to live up to its name and rise from its ashes once more.
On December 14, an excited crowd will cram into the theater named after the mythical Phoenix to hear music resound through its azure, gilt and carmine hall for the first time since it was reduced to charred rubble in 1996.
"I remember when it caught fire. I work nearby and we could see the flames and the smoke. It was quite frightening," said Bruno Vianello, watching workers level off the theater's steps and polish the blue and gold phoenix hanging over the entrance.
"We have waited quite some time...but to see it finally finished is a huge satisfaction," he said.
Venetians mutter darkly about the night of Jan. 29, 1996.
Their collective memory is etched by flames ripping through the stucco halls and labyrinthine corridors of La Fenice, so loved by Giuseppe Verdi that he wrote operas like "La Traviata" and "Rigoletto" for it.
Sadness and shock at losing one of the world's top opera houses, famed for its near-perfect acoustics, gave way to outrage when two electricians were found guilty of starting the blaze to avoid a fine for missing a deadline.
Venice's former mayor promised La Fenice would sing again by late 1999 but by that stage the shell of the opera house still sat in ruins while building firms quarreled over who would rebuild it.
Workers are rushing to remove debris from the tiny square between the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's while others carry in ranks of velvet seats for the inaugural concert.
Inside, craftsmen who molded busts and painted panels as far away as Rome have slotted their works of art into place. Gloved decorators have freed the Murano glass chandeliers that glimmer throughout the theater from their protective plastic.
"It is chaos in there. Everyone's rushing to get the last bits done," said Gianni Cagnin, the engineer who has overseen the rebuilding.
Wide range
Engineers, artists and administrators have toiled to make sure the rebuilt house is exactly "as it was, where it was" -- the watchword for any restoration project in Venice.
On the gilded surface, the foyers and auditorium should look exactly the same as the original theater built in 1837, itself a replacement for a house that burned down a year earlier.
Beyond balustrades covered in gold leaf and carefully copied wooden floors, La Fenice has been reborn into the 21st century. The new stage and, most importantly, fire-fighting equipment are the most modern money can buy.
"It was hard to put the old together with the new," said Cagnin. "But we now have water stored on site, state of the art sprinklers and building materials that should ensure the house stays standing for two hours if fire strikes again."
For a week in the middle of December, politicians, music lovers and Venetians will glide into the opulent theater for concerts featuring some of Europe's best orchestras and British singer Elton John who has a house in Venice.
"There is such a range of music -- from Mahler's grand orchestral works to solo piano and voice -- that we'll have the opportunity to test all the acoustics and make any changes necessary," said Giampaolo Vianelli, the head of La Fenice.
For the best part of next year La Fenice will host only occasional concerts while technicians make their final checks.
The chorus and orchestra, which have been camping out in other Venetian theaters and a big white tent on the edge of the lagoon city, will finally return from exile in November 2004 to put on a new production of "La Traviata."
"I'm glad it's reopening but until we have the whole company back -- from stage hands changing sets to opera stars belting out the classics -- I won't really believe La Fenice is alive and well again," said opera-loving Venetian Moreno Sagramora.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
