ROME – Three Sicilian orchestra members were suspended with cut pay for criticising "inconsistent" guest conductor Beatrice Venezi whose admirers include Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, orchestral sources said.

 The superintendent of Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Andrea Peria, took disciplinary action against three members of his orchestra after they criticised Venezi, 34, in an interview with Repubblica in January, calling her “unsuited for the role” and said her conducting was “inconsistent with the musical performance.”

 The orchestra had performed multiple concerts in the historical Politeama theatre, Palermo, led by the pro-Meloni conductor. Venezi is friends with Meloni and advisor to the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano. She has previously performed at the Fratelli D'Italia's concert for workers, held on May 1. 

 Two of the dissidents, Luciano Saladino, a violinist, and Claudio Sardisco, flautist, were suspended without pay for seven days whereas the other dissident, Ivana Sparacio, another violinist, was only served one day’s suspension. If they commit any further disciplinary offences, harsher measures will be taken.

 Saladino, speaking to Repubblica, said that he considers “the sanction absolutely illegal” and that he has “given [his] lawyer the mandate to challenge it.”

 Peria argued that the suspension was because they had aired their issues with Venezi to the newspaper, instead of sorting out their differences in private. The three dissadents' actions were described as incompatible with their contractual duties and they were accused of straining relations with the conductor. The Sicilian symphony orchestra’s superintendent also demanded that the heads of each section distance themselves from the “rebels”, however four of them refused to dissociate themselves from their colleagues' statements, telling Repubblica that they were “perfectly in line with reality.”

 Repubblica also reported that various trade unions, including Libersind, Uilcom and CGIL, have remained silent, only distancing themselves from being involved with the musicians’ plight, but instead said “the right to freely express one’s thoughts is fundamental.”

 However, this has caused outrage amongst politicians, including two 5 Star Movement senators, Luca Pirondini, a violinist, and Dolores Bevilacqua. In a statement they described the events as “scandalous” and said they “cannot be accepted [because it] demonstrates the vile notion of culture expressed by this government.” They said the “government has gone far beyond cronyism, deliberately punishing those who dare to challenge the boss’s pals.”

 The three suspended musicians returned to work on Monday.