They had secured discounted tickets to see Caravaggio performed by Roberto Bolle , the internationally renowned dancer who received standing ovations and applause yesterday at the opening night at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari . Unfortunately, however, the audience, approximately thirty in number, were confronted with a harsh reality upon entry: those tickets were fake .

Many of them had purchased them through a Facebook contact who sold unusable tickets. The offers were tempting and absurd at the same time : "They sold everything," explains Superintendent Andrea Cigni , "even standing room seats for €20, which obviously don't exist in other theaters, or for prices ranging from €50 to €70." These prices were very different from the official prices: €147 for a seat in the stalls, €131 for one in the first balcony, and €94 for the second balcony.

Faced with this unpleasant surprise, some of the defrauded spectators decided to leave. Others decided to stay: "We tried to remedy the situation by charging a student ticket at a 50% discount."

This isn't an isolated case: "Scams of this kind have already occurred in other theaters in Italy. A few months ago, we publicly asked audiences to purchase tickets only through official channels. We will obviously file a formal complaint about what happened on Monday," Cigni concludes.

The Teatro Lirico's social media channels have issued a warning to anyone planning to purchase tickets for today and tomorrow's performances: "Access to the theater will be granted only to those who have purchased through official channels. This means the theater box office, the official website, and the Vivaticket channel. Tickets purchased outside of official channels will not be valid for admission. Please report the incident immediately to the postal police and contact your bank to block the payment."

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