Disagreement occurs amid a kind of ideological crisis between City Hall and Sustenidos, a social organization that manages the site
The Association of Musicians of Amithem sued the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MP-SP) against Fundação Theatro Municipal because of the contract with Sustenidos, a social organization that manages the venue. The City Council had also requested the termination of the contract.
The musicians’ request, according to a public note, was made at the beginning of October, and calls for the agency’s intervention “in view of the risk of irreparable damage to the theater’s tangible and intangible heritage”.
The provocation made by the association to the MP-SP states that the management contract between Sustenidos and the City of São Paulo is irregular.
One of the bases of support is the fact that, in 2023, the Municipal Audit Court (TCM) requested a new notice to choose a social organization to manage the theater, but it was not carried out.
In a note, Sustenidos states that the TCM’s guidance on opening new competition at the time was due to “failures in the procedure carried out by the Public Authorities”, and not about alleged irregularities by the OS.
According to the organization, an audit carried out in 2024 found that all financial statements were made correctly for the foundation, and that most of the goals were achieved.
The context of the complaint
The disagreement occurs amid a kind of ideological crisis between City Hall and Sustenidos. In September, in the wake of the murder of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Ricardo Nunes (MDB) called for the contract to be canceled.
This occurred after an OS employee shared a post on his Instagram in which Kirk was called a Nazi.
Last week, the situation worsened with the suspension of double bassist Brian Fountain, member of the Municipal Symphony Orchestra and president of Amithem, after publishing criticism on his social networks of the current production of Macbeth. The removal culminated in a protest carried out by the house’s artists on November 7th.
“Defamation is precisely what we have suffered due to the harassing actions and omissions of Fundação Theatro Municipal in recent years. We are in opposition to the management of Sustenidos and the current board of directors of Fundação Theatro Municipal”, says a representative of the musicians, in a video published on social media. “Their intentions for this house were clear in the draft notice, put out for public consultation and currently criticized by us.”
The draft notice and management contract, put out for public consultation by the Foundation, concerns a new notice to choose a social cultural organization to manage the theater. The current contract with Sustenidos ends in 2026.
Musicians, however, criticize the notice. The Union of Professional Musicians in the State of São Paulo declares, in a note, that the directors or members of artistic bodies were not consulted to prepare the draft, which would be “coherent and necessary”.
Furthermore, the entity considers the document to be inconsistent and inappropriate for the future of the theater. “We have suffered from uncertainty and a drastic reduction in staff in recent years, resulting in an inevitable loss of quality, incompatible with the importance of the Theater in the artistic scene”, says the note.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
