On Saturday, October 21, sixty members of the Teatro Regio di Torino choir went out into the street and sang "Va' pensiero" and other renowned arias by Giuseppe Verdi. The sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, tenors, baritones, and basses announced to those in line to attend the premiere of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and to passersby who had stopped to listen that their contracts had not been renewed for over two decades and that their salaries were no longer sufficient to cover the cost of living, despite the fact that their line of work is skilled and requires ongoing education. Depending on the classification and duration of service, the minimum monthly salary ranges from €1,300 net to slightly over €2,200. The choristers of the Regio di Torino initiated a walkout that spread throughout Italy with the impromptu concert on the street. Even the musicians of Naples' Teatro San Carlo improvised a street concert. The premiere of Gioachino Rossini's Maometto II was canceled by the theater three days later. Mozart's Don Giovanni, conducted by Riccardo Muti, was canceled on Tuesday, October 24 at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, a much anticipated debut for which 1,300 tickets had been sold and which the theatre had to re-pay for. Performances were halted in 12 of Italy's 14 opera houses during the next few days.
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