The opera houses blame the government for their financial problems. Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has slashed the country's arts budget, much of which is spent on subsidizing opera, by one third.
Teatro San Carlo has been forced to cancel ballet performaces, according to the Times, and Teatro Carlo Felice has canceled performances of Janšcek's Kšt'a Kabanovš and Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.