La Fenice opera house closes again

VENICE, Italy, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- After a week of inaugural concerts, Venice's restored La Fenice opera house closed Tuesday until November 2004 for equipment adjustments.

The house, dating to the 1830s, was gutted by a fire believed to be set by an arsonist Jan. 21, 1996. Its rebuilding bogged down in political red tape and indecision, and the reopening Dec. 14 was four years later than scheduled. It represented a triumph for Mayor Paolo Costa, who took control of the project two years ago and staked his career on La Fenice re-opening this year.

A related consequence of the fire has been the dredging of Venice's canals after years of neglect. The Venice fire brigade was unable to reach the burning theater on time to quench the fire because the canal surrounding it had been allowed to silt up.

One of the most popular inaugural concerts was an evening of music by Elton John.