Venice hosts the traditional New Year's Eve concert at Teatro La Fenice.
Teatro La Fenice, whose name means “The Phoenix,” is Venice's major opera house and a historic Italian theatre. Its New Year's concert is a celebrated classical-music event, normally presented around the turn of the year and broadcast to audiences beyond the theatre.
The program traditionally combines orchestral music with opera and ballet excerpts. It has become especially associated with Giuseppe Verdi and other Italian repertoire, although the exact works and performers vary by edition. The concert usually culminates in the “Libiamo ne' lieti calici” brindisi from Verdi's La traviata, followed by the chorus “Va, pensiero” and the Italian national anthem in customary programming.
The concert is sometimes confused with New Year's performances in Vienna, whose best-known event is the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert. La Fenice's concert is Venetian and Italian, with its own venue, repertoire traditions, and broadcast history.