Burdened with debt, the Florence opera is threatened with imminent closure

8.5 million euros: this is the sum that the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino must find by the end of July to avoid bankruptcy, Classic Radio tells us. After the resignation of its superintendent Alexander Pereira at the beginning of March, against the background of an investigation for embezzlement, an audit revealed the great financial difficulties of the Florence opera. The debt would amount to 57 million euros, including 6 million losses still recorded last year, the year 2023 should still show a deficit of 2 million. No less than 300 jobs are threatened.

To avoid administrative liquidation, the Tuscan institution could part with all or part of its archives, the value of which is estimated at 13 million euros. A heritage made up of more than 100,000 objects, with thousands of sketches and posters signed by the greatest artists (Guttuso, De Chirico...), models, costumes and autographs. The Uffizi Museum would be interested.

Selling such a collection to fill the financial imbalance, however, questions the trade unions. “If in the next few days we continue to talk about the sale of the historical archives of the Maggio to solve the economic crisis, it will mean that we do not want to face the problem. By the time you're ready to sell, assuming it's a good idea, our theater will have already gone bankrupt! “, they warned at the end of May in a press release.

A few hours after the union note, an official statement from the institution abounded in this direction: "It is good to specify that a possible alienation of the archives, even to public institutions, would require technical times that do not coincide at all with the extraordinary and urgent needs of Maggio Fiorentino. As has been said on several occasions, unfortunately, in order to guarantee the solvency of the Foundation, certain financial resources and/or reliable guarantees are required at a very short time: July 2023”.