Rising From the Ashes.(Venice's historic rebuilt opera house, La Fenice, soon to reopen to public)

When Paolo Costa became mayor of Venice three years ago, he asked his advisers two questions: "When will La Fenice be finished? And how much will it cost?" He had good reason to wonder. After the legendary 18th- century opera house burned to the ground in January 1996, the then mayor swore on the smoldering embers that La Fenice, like its namesake phoenix, would rise from the ashes. But as recently as last year it was still a smoky, scarred hole in the center of the city. "I found it was impossible to travel outside of Venice and not be asked about La Fenice," Costa recalls.…