Alexander Pereira
Photo: Suzanne Schwiertz
Alexander Pereira, the former artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, the Zurich Opera House and La Scala in Milan, has been convicted of embezzlement in Florence. A court found Pereira guilty of charging private expenses to the opera house while he was artistic director of the Maggio Musicale. He received a suspended sentence of 22 months – the verdict is not yet final. The public prosecutor’s office had also accused him of using around 35 million euros from a state cultural fund for an improper purpose – although the funds were intended solely to strengthen the foundation’s capital. The court considered this accusation to be unproven.
