An orchestra director lost his job after telling an audience packed with children at a festive stage show that "Father Christmas does not exist".
News agency ANSA said on Saturday that Giacomo Loprieno lashed out at the young audience for failing to applaud following a performance of Frozen at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome on Thursday.
The theatre underlined the severity of the offence with a Facebook posting of the production's new orchestral director next to Santa Claus.
The theatre's new orchestral director is far more Santa-friendly than the previous one. Photo: Facebook