The Manoel Theatre today launched the fourth edition of the Bank of Valletta Opera Festival due to be held between the 15th and the 23rd of March. This year’s edition will consist of a new production, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and an Operatic Concert featuring the Soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre (Kirov). During the launch, Mr Joseph F X Zahra presented the sponsorship cheque to Dr Peter Fenech, acting Chairman of the Manoel Theatre in the presence of Artistic Director Mr Tony Cassar Darien.
Addressing the media, Dr Fenech described how since the staging of its first edition four years ago, the Bank of Valletta Opera Festival has managed to establish itself as one of the major events in Malta’s cultural calendar. “This success is underlined not only through the most positive local reviews it is achieving but is also being bolstered through numerous appraisals that the BOV Opera Festival is attaining on an international level in prestigious opera reviews and magazines around the world,” stated Dr Fenech.
Mr Fenech added “indeed, a number of European and American publications alike have had words of praise not only for the Manoel Theatre as an excellent venue but also for the BOV Opera Festival as a unique event worth attending. In fact, the BOV Opera Festival’s ongoing success is generating a lot of enthusiasm thus contributing to raising the genre’s profile and suggesting that such a professional opera festival should be thoroughly encoraged,” stated Dr Fenech.
Addressing the launch, Mr Joseph F X Zahra had words of praise to the organising committee of the BOV Opera Festival. “Since the very first edition, our view was that of supporting the creation and staging of a unique event that could pay true homage to opera as well as to provide our local talented artists with the opportunity to perform alongside other established foreign artists in their home country. This goes in line with our commitment to act as patrons of performing arts in Malta and we are very glad with the success that this venture is reaping. We are also very delighted at the most positive feedback this event is receiving from abroad because these comments cannot but raise and augment Malta’s profile as the ideal stage for classical and operatic events,” stated Mr Zahra.
Elaborating on the programme of events, Mr Tony Cassar Darien stated that this year’s BOV Opera Festival will kick off with Lucia de Lammermoor, an opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with Libretto in Italian by Salvatore Cammarano based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel “The Bride of Lammermoor”. This opera, which will be staged in Malta for the first time, was first performed in Naples on the 26th of September 1835. The cast will be made up of Niko Issakov (Enrico), Mariana Panova (Lucia), Juan Gambina (Edgardo), Nikolai Pavlov (Arturo), Latchezar Lazarov (Raimondo), Andriana Nikolaeva Yordanova (Alisa) and Robert Schwarts (Normando). The artistic direction will be in the hands of Plamen Kartaloff, also director general of Sofia National Opera in Bulgaria. He has staged many critically acclaimed productions in Europe and America. Due on the 15th and 17th March, this opera will feature the National Orchestra under the musical direction of Michael Laus.
The Operatic Concert due on the 19th of March will feature the soloists from the famous Marinsky Theatre, ex-Kirov of St. Petersburg namely soprano Irina Dzioeva, baritone Vladimir Samsonov and pianist Mikhail Aptekman. The programme will include amongst others Mozart’s The Queen of the Night (“Magic flute”), Verdi’s Aria of Renato (“Ballo un Masehera”) and Violetta (“Traviata”), Donizetti’s Aria Al’fonso (“Favoritka”), Puccini’s Aria of Gianni Skikki (“Gianni Skikki”), Bizet’s, Kuplets of Toreodor (“Karmen”), Mozart’s Duet of Cante and Susanna (“Nozze di Figaro”), Rossini’s “Kavatina of Figaro” (“Barbieri di Sevilia”) and Strauss’ Aria of Barincay (“Gipsi Baron”) amongst many others.
Finally, Mozart’s Don Giovanni will be staged on the 22nd and 23rd of March and will be co-produced with Palermo’s Operalaboratorio following last year’s collaboration which saw the co-production of Mozart's Cosi` Fan Tutte. Mozart's Don Giovanni has been described as ‘the greatest opera ever composed’. It has a libretto by the Italian Lorenzo Da Fonte based on another opera The Stone Guest by Giuseppe Gazzaniga. It was first performed in Prague on 29th October 1787. Artistic direction will be under Mauro Avogadro while musical director Michael Laus will again conduct Malta's National Orchestra.
This year’s festival will also be enhanced through the hosting of two additional concerts namely a concert on Tuesday 18th March at 7.30pm featuring favourite arias from both opears and a lunchtime concert on Thursday 20th at 12.30 featuring arias from the Concert. Both concerts will see the participation of the Don Giovanni Cast from Operalaboratorio, Fondazione Teatro Massimo coached by Elizabeth Smith with piano accompanied by Mro Salvatore Scinaldi.
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