Accademia

He has worked since 2007 with set designer Paolo Fantin, his former student at Venice’s Accademia di Belle Arti.

Parallel to the Royal Opera, Pappano served as the music director of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, a position that he relinquished last year.

For a short time during this week’s previews, a printed sign hung on the Accademia Bridge labeling Iran a “murderous terrorist regime,” declaring “the Iranian people want freedom & peace.”

Those whirlwind jaunts are the focus of “Willem de Kooning and Italy,” a new exhibition that opened on Wednesday at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice.

The Accademia will present an almost comprehensive group of the sculptures.