From the Archives (Teatro Massimo Bellini Facebook)

Solitary at Teatro Bellini

Excerpts L’Urlo

Conductor José Cura uttered words of solidarity with the workers, who yesterday was at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania to direct a symphonic-choral concert.  After the first number, the maestro paused to address the audience, commenting on the situation that sees regular employees unpaid for four months and turned into seasonal on-call workers with no expectation of continuous work.

“These last few days,” said Cura, “I have spent in beautiful moments of friendship with professors, artists in the choir, machinists. I share their concern for back wages that have been held for months, which affects rents, family, children, daily life.  The bigger concern is for the future:  we are all ready to make sacrifices for the future, as long as the future promises us something.  But if it is black, with nothing but black, that is a devastating combination.”

Cura concluded, “We want the Teatro Bellini to return to the beacon of culture for Sicily.”  For the occasion, and in protest and mourning of the “death” of culture, employees performed yesterday wearing purple ribbons, the color of penitence and expectation according to Catholic ritual.