ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VENICE, ITALY
SOURCE: DANIEL J. WAKIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIKE THE PHOENIX for which it is named, Venetians and the opera world hope La Fenice will rise from the ashes.
This beautiful canal city and the opera world on Tuesday mourned the destruction by fire of La Fenice opera house, an 18th-century treasure where ``La Traviata'' and ``Rigoletto'' were first heard.
The gutting of the theater Monday night was a major blow to a city already overwhelmed with the task of caring for its fragile cultural riches. City officials launched an international appeal for funds to rebuild La Fenice, named after the mythical phoenix - a bird that sets itself on fire, then rises from its own ashes.
In Italy, the land that invented the form, opera houses become fundamental parts of a city's fabric. Their loss is devastating.
``It was like going to a mortuary to identify a corpse,'' said Massimo Nalesso, a bassoonist and 25-year veteran of the orchestra, after stopping by the smoking hulk a few blocks from St. Mark's Square.
The destruction of La Fenice (feh-nee'-chay) turned Venice into a ``body without a soul, a mutilated city,'' tenor Luciano Pavarotti told the Turin newspaper La Stampa.
Mayor Massimo Cacciari couldn't even describe his feeling: ``It's better not to talk about the things you love.''
The 204-year-old opera house, built in the waning years of the Venetian Republic, was not only a cultural symbol but a reminder of the city's past greatness.
Five of Verdi's operas, including ``Rigoletto'' and ``La Traviata,'' premiered at La Fenice. So did works by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini.
La Fenice won praise for its superb acoustics and stuccoed, gilded interior. Ioan Holender, director of the Vienna State Opera, called it ``the most beautiful opera house in the world.'' It was a model for the auditorium of New York's Metropolitan Opera House.
Hours after the blaze was declared under control, smoke poured out of the marble neoclassical facade. Water dripped from charred beams, which leaned crazily against each other. The building stood like a stage set against the blue sky.
There was only one minor injury, a firefighter.
The fire also destroyed 200 years of archives, including valuable letters and musical scores.
``We've lost the most beautiful thing in Venice,'' said Albino Strighetta, a gondolier. ``The people of Venice are completely demoralized.''
The fire hit just when the theater was at its most vulnerable. It was closed for renovations, and Cacciari, the mayor, said the old sprinkler system had been deactivated while a new one was being installed.
Newspapers speculated a short-circuit might have caused the fire, but Cacciari said investigators still had no theories. He said that workers had been installing an electrical system on an upper level, where the fire is believed to have broken out.
A lone watchman was on duty at night, but obviously ``the surveillance wasn't enough,'' Cacciari said. Nevertheless, ``There couldn't be a guard for every room and every box of La Fenice,'' he said. The watchman was unhurt.
Canals around the opera house were closed for dredging for the first time in 30 years, a project designed to make it easier for emergency workers to reach the area. Venice fire Chief Alfio Pini said that complicated the job of firefighters.
Cacciari, at a news conference, called on major opera houses around the world to play host to the company while La Fenice is being rebuilt. He promised the opera house would stand again in two years, a project that city officials said would cost more than $62 million.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 2 photos by AP (ran on A-1). color.by CNB