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They have been ten “very tiring” years, but the results repay all the efforts and demonstrate that “when time, will and everyone’s help are available, wonderful results can be achieved”. Since 2014, Massimo Biscardi has been the superintendent and artistic director of the Petruzzelli in Bari, one of the 14 Italian opera foundations, and when in June 2014 he came to direct the theater which had just come out of commissioner management, the situation was not the best, starting with a loss budget of 200 thousand euros and a series of work cases for the stabilization of around 200 temporary workers.
A point of reference for the city
Today the scenario has completely changed: for ten years the foundation has been in profit and, above all, the Petruzzelli has once again become a point of reference for the public of the city and the region, which represents just under 80% of the spectators, while another 10% is represented by Italians from other regions and 12% by foreign visitors. From 2013 to 2023 the audience almost tripled, going from 43,411 spectators in 2013 to 113,797 last year (+140%), a figure also higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 2019 (102,742) and the first three months of 2024 give rise to hope for a further increase, with 99% of shows sold out and box office sales already exceeding 50% of expected revenues for the entire year. «This could help us achieve my goal, which is to bring the Foundation’s budget to 20 million euros, the figure that I consider right for Petruzzelli to truly act as a protagonist on the Italian opera scene», adds Biscardi. Last year the value of production stood at 18.5 million euros, which in addition to ticket receipts (1.8 million euros compared to 1.3 million in 2013) and public contributions (14.3 million), also the resources allocated by private partners and sponsors, including important regional industry entities, which in 2023 allocated more than 1.1 million euros compared to just over 382 thousand euros collected in 2013, with an increase by 298% from 2017 to today. «But I am sure that more can be done – says Biscardi, expressing hope for these last two years of his mandate, which will expire in June 2025 – therefore I still ask for a small effort from our private partners and public partners, because the The target of 20 million euros is achievable.”
The affordable pricing policy
Numerous choices made in recent years have contributed to supporting the recovery and relaunch of the Bari theater – not only from an economic-financial point of view, but also from an artistic and cultural point of view. First of all, the desire for Petruzzelli to be «not an exclusive place, but a theater for all citizens – explains the superintendent -. This for me is a real victory: having managed to create a ticket office accessible to different price ranges, including young people under 30 who make up 55% of our audience.”
This is also why the takings – unlike the number of spectators – are still lower than those of 2019: with Covid, the world of entertainment went into crisis and the Petruzzelli chose to further lower ticket prices. «I believe that the programs are like trips that are taken together, like on a bus – says Biscardi -: if you only see one stage of this journey, it may be fine to pay 300 euros, but our programs are made because the greater number of people can follow us throughout the journey. So for me the theater makes sense and thus knowledge expands.”
Furthermore, the educational role of the theater, with a rich program aimed at teenagers and children, which then had the beneficial effect of bringing parents into the theater too.