Just in: Fourth Italian opera is shut by virus
mainFirst La Scala, now Parma.
UPDATE: And La Fenice. Plus the Communale at Bologna.
Here’s the Parma statement.
The Teatro Regio di Parma informs that in view of the evolution of the epidemic phenomenon linked to the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19 infection, in compliance with the order of the Emilia-Romagna Region, in order to reduce the possibility of possible contagions, it provides for the suspension of the suspension of activities open to the public, including the ticket office and guided tours, until 1 March 2020
The meeting with Guido Barbieri scheduled on February 29th is suspended and will be rescheduled. Martina Filjak’s concert with the Solisti di Zagreb scheduled on March 1th is suspended pending new communication on a possible recovery on other date to be defined.
In addition, the subscription campaign to the Verdi Festival 2020, with the prelation reserved for subscribers to the Verdi Festival 2019, originally scheduled from February 27, will take place from 2 to 5 March.
It is clear that the usual activities of the Teatro Regio in Parma at the offices will continue without interruption and that all offices and structures will remain open according to the scheduled times.
The Teatro Regio di Parma also invites responsible behavior following the indications issued by the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health and the Emilia-Romagna Region.
Il Teatro Regio di Parma informa che in considerazione dell’evoluzione del fenomeno epidemico legato al diffondersi dell’infezione Coronavirus COVID-19, in osservanza all’ordinanza della Regione Emilia-Romagna, al fine di ridurre le possibilità di eventuali contagi, dispone la sospensione delle attività aperte al pubblico, comprese lo sportello di Biglietteria e le visite guidate, fino al 1 marzo 2020 compreso.
L’incontro con Guido Barbieri in programma il 29 febbraio è sospeso e sarà recuperato in altra data che verrà prossimamente comunicata. Il concerto di Martina Filjak con I Solisti di Zagabria in programma il giorno 1 marzo è sospeso in attesa di nuove comunicazioni su un eventuale recupero in altra data da definirsi.
Inoltre la campagna di abbonamenti al Festival Verdi 2020, con la prelazione riservata agli abbonati al Festival Verdi 2019, originariamente prevista dal 27 febbraio, avrà luogo dal 2 al 5 marzo.
Si precisa che le consuete attività del Teatro Regio di Parma presso gli uffici e i laboratori, proseguiranno senza interruzione e che tutti gli uffici e le strutture rimarranno aperti secondo gli orari programmati.
Il Teatro Regio di Parma invita, inoltre, ad adottare un comportamento responsabile seguendo le indicazioni emanate dal ministero della Salute, dall’Istituto superiore di sanità e dalla Regione Emilia-Romagna.
Well that last paragraph would suggest the matter is not in their hands wouldn’t it?
Quite, ultimately they have to follow the instructions of regional and national government. Italy has like France a Napoleonic government structure where the government can use very stringent powers
So Violetta and Mimi metaphorically catch SARS-CoV-2. ( I know this sounds pedantic, but corona virus is a family of viruses, just like adenoviruses — strains of both families can produce common-cold like symptoms.) A long time ago I was a briefly a student at the Wellcome Institute of the history of medicine, London. Research on the great 1918 influenza pandemic didn’t show that containment worked in the long run to reduce the pandemic’s eventual reach. Actually, it went worldwide, and was particularly devastating to the indigenous peoples of Australia, NZ and the South Pacific.
Containment now, in the early stages, may however buy time in order to create rudimentary vaccines, or work out how to better treat the illness in the over 70s, or those with otherwise compromised immune systems. If one reads between the lines of medical epidemiologists quoted in the press, it isn’t clear to me there is any consensus that this can be contained like SARS or MERS — only slowed.
It’s on the verge of being called a global pandemic.