Following this week’s retirement of tenor Joseph Calleja and soprano Tatjana Lisnic from the production Romeo and Juliet due to a bout of flu, the Manoel Theatre Management Committee is announcing that the main roles of this production will now be interpreted by tenor Harrie van der Plas and soprano Leontina Vaduva – seasoned celebrities considered among the elite in the world of Opera.

After the original protagonists declared their indisposition via a statement circulated in the media, the management set about contacting the main international centres to seek the best replacements possible for both the demanding roles. One has to keep in mind that this particular opera is not on the popular repertoire, also because it is in the French idiom with a particular kind of musicality unlike the Italian repertoire to which many in Malta are accustomed to.

The extensive international contacts which the management of the Manoel Theatre enjoys in the entertainment business has certainly facilitated such a difficult task, considering both the quality of the voices required and the mitigating time factor.

Leontina Vaduva is considered to be one of the world’s top sopranos whose presence has graced the boards of all the major theatres throughout the world. Since 1985, when she won the First Prize in the International Singing Competition in Toulouse with her interpretation of Manon by Massenet, her vocal attributes, her sensual beauty and interpretative powers marked her for celebrity status in a relatively short career.

In fact, this Manon was duly repeated at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the Opéra Comique and Bastille in Paris, la Scala in Milan, the Vienna Staatsoper, the New National Theatre in Tokyo and the Metropolitan in New York.

Singing the role of Romeo, Dutch Harrie van der Plas has built a strong personal following throughout with patrons in the operatic camp. His charming personality and charisma has facilitated his crossing over to radio and television with a natural ease. Van der Plas also sports an extensive repertoire which has taken him all over the German operatic houses and throughout Europe.

A spokesman for the Manoel Theatre has expressed his satisfaction that the audiences making up the booked houses for this BOV Opera Festival will certainly be satisfied with the outcome of such a unique production.

There is a strong expectancy in the air that this production, which has had more than its fair share of ups and downs, will prove to be a milestone in the chequered career of the National Theatre.

After all, it was that theatrical giant of all ages who succinctly expressed it when he wrote that “All’s well that ends well”.

The performances are today and Friday at 7.30pm.