January 17, 24 and 31 at 7pm
ONLINE EVENT
The atypical hybrid 15th edition of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music comes to an end this January with Viva l’Opera.
The series – which has the full collaboration of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the backing of the MTA, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura La Valletta and BOV – presents scenes from three of the best-loved Italian operas: Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and Gaetano Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore.
Aiming at high artistic and production levels, Viva l’Opera remodels the time-proven operatic genre for a virtual concept, and looks to leave an impact on the national creative ecology as well as a lasting artistic legacy. Rather than conventionally staged in a theatre, the scenes from the standard international operatic repertoire are naturally set and filmed on location at various enchanting venues in Gozo – thus also conveying their beauty and charm beyond our shores, indeed to the international artistic community. Three very particular Gozitan sites are used: the Gozo Seminary for I Pagliacci, Fort Chambray for Il Trovatore, and Ta’ Kola Windmill for L’Elisir d’Amore.
The shooting sessions followed a fully-professional audio recording held early in 2022 featuring the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the Gaulitana’s own artistic director Colin Attard. Costa Consulta Ltd and the international PARMA Recordings were responsible for the recording and the musical production respectively.
With Viva l’Opera, Gaulitana yet again aims to offer a “different” audio-visual operatic treat to a wide audience, both local and international, while adding another perspective to Gozo’s notable intrinsic link with opera.
The series will be streamed for free on the Gaulitana: A Festival of Music Facebook page and YouTube channel on three consecutive Tuesdays in January at 19.00hrs and remains available on the organisation’s digital platforms.
[source: http://gaulitanus.com/]
January 17 at 7pm
I PAGLIACCI
Ruggiero Leoncavallo
LOUIS ANDREW CASSAR Baritone | GILLIAN ZAMMIT Soprano
COLIN ATTARD Conductor | MALTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
DENISE MULHOLLAND Director | MATTHEW MUSCAT DRAGO Director of Photography
MICHAEL CAROL BARTOLO Set Artist | JAMES DEBONO Costumes
A story within a story, I Pagliacci explores the themes of love, jealousy and betrayal. A group of travelling clowns arrive in a new town, each one hiding a secret. Fantasy blurs with reality in this verismo opera leading to a tragic conclusion.
Before the opera begins, Tonio the clown (Louis Andrew Cassar) appears in front of the curtain and, in the form of a prologue, tells us that what we are about to see are the real trials and tribulations of the ordinary man. Despite his painted-on smile, the clown too can feel pain; despite his happy demeanour, the clown too can feel heartbreak.
Tonio harbours an unrequited love for Nedda (Gillian Zammit), the restless and unhappy wife of Pagliacci. She is in love with another man and is terrified her husband will find out. She distracts herself by singing a song from her childhood, a song to the birds in which she envies their freedom to travel wherever they wish.
Putting their unhappiness to one side, Tonio and Nedda prepare for the performance. Vesti la giubba as Pagliacci sings – the clown must weep in private for the show must continue.
Louis Andrew Cassar (Tonio)
Gillian Zammit (Nedda)
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January 24 at 7pm – 7:20pm
IL TROVATORE
Giuseppe Verdi
GRAZIELLA DEBATTISTA Mezzo-Soprano | ANDRIANA YORDANOVA Soprano | STEPHANIE PORTELLI Soprano
COLIN ATTARD Conductor | MALTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
DENISE MULHOLLAND Director | MATTHEW MUSCAT DRAGO Director of Photography
MICHAEL CAROL BARTOLO Set Artist | JAMES DEBONO Costumes
A story of witchcraft, murder and vengeance, the plot of this opera finds its roots in the acts of the parents. A gypsy woman is burned at the stake for suspected witchcraft – the story of her death haunts every character in the opera.
Azucena (Graziella DeBattista), her daughter, sees the death repeating in every waking moment – in the flickering of the fire and in the shape of the shadows. She is unable to find any peace, tormented always by the shocking events of that night. Haunted by her mother’s dying words “mi vendica”, Azucena sets in motion a series of events which will lead to tragedy.
The young noblewoman, Leonora (Andriana Yordanova), finds herself caught up in this story. Rejecting the advances of Count di Luna, she has fallen in love with a mysterious troubadour, Manrico, who sings of his love nightly at her window. Ines (Stephanie Portelli), her lady-in-waiting, warns her of the dangers involved but Leonora remains determined.
With the count and the troubadour already sworn enemies as leaders of opposing factions in the war, they are now destined to oppose each other in the pursuit of Leonora’s heart, with tragic consequences.
Graziella Debattista (Azucena)
Andriana Yordanova (Leonora)
Stephanie Portelli (Ines)
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January 31 at 7pm – 7:20pm
L’ELISIR D’AMORE
Gaetano Donizetti
CLIFF ZAMMIT STEVENS Tenor | NICOLA SAID Soprano
COLIN ATTARD Conductor | MALTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
DENISE MULHOLLAND Director | MATTHEW MUSCAT DRAGO Director of Photography
MICHAEL CAROL BARTOLO Set Artist | JAMES DEBONO Costumes
Joy, love and magic elixirs abound in this witty opera by Donizetti. Adina (Nicola Said) is, and as always been, the love of Nemorino’s life but she sees him more as an annoying brother than a potential lover.
Nemorino (Cliff Zammit Stevens) watches her as she reads, sadly accepting the fact that she is too far above him to ever consider him a love-match. But Dulcamara, a travelling salesman/con-artist, has turned up and is selling bottles of an amazing love-potion – anyone who drinks it will become irresistible to the opposite sex. Nemorino drinks heartily, not realising that Dulcamara has in fact sold him a bottle of Bordeaux! His confidence grows as he becomes more and more inebriated.
Adina agrees to marry the pompous Belcore, mostly to make Nemorino jealous – but realises just in time that she loves Nemorino. However, by that time, broken-hearted Nemorino has enlisted in the army, deciding he would rather face death than life without Adina.
Adina buys back the commission and, in a moment of rare humility, tells Nemorino she is sorry for the way she has treated him. She finally admits her love for him and, as in the way of all good stories, they live happily ever after.
Cliff Zammit Stevens (Nemorino)
Nicola Said (Adina)
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Supported by the Investment in Cultural Organisations – Gozo by Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo.
In collaboration with: Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Malta Tourism Authority, Istituto Italiano di Cultura La Valletta and Bank of Valletta