Readers may think the following is all about some other credit rating, like Moody’s, Standard & Poors, etc.

It’s not. It’s about Malta’s, or rather Gozo’s, two theatres – Aurora and Astra, or Astra and Aurora to go alphabetically, both of which these days are each presenting a complete opera production.

Over the past months, as the debate on Renzo Piano’s plans for City Gate raged, many decried the lack of a proper theatre for opera productions and concerts in Malta, given that the Manoel Theatre is too small and the Mediterranean Conference Centre stage is too narrow. That is why many argued that the Opera House should be properly roofed and restored to its original state, rather than be left open as Mr Piano wanted it.

But over in Gozo, for a long time, two clubs together with their various committees, youth sections, craftsmen and the like, have been putting up one production after another of some of the most popular operas.

And despite that it entails crossing over, many Maltese who love opera have been flocking, year after year, to these productions. In doing so, proving if there ever was any need, that the Maltese are not philistines where grand opera is concerned.

Apart from the sheer determination and courage the two clubs must have had to embark on such a venture, one must also consider the multiplier effect of such productions.

This has ranged from the craftsmen who produced one set after another, the people in charge of lighting, clothes, etc to the many Maltese with singing parts, some in the choir and others as minor protagonists. And do not forget the orchestra, of course, many of whose members are young musicians.

As the Royal Opera House itself testifies, opera has long been staple entertainment for the Maltese educated classes. The building, bombed in 1942, was a well-loved building and its seasons were the highlight of the season in those far-off days. To wander around the ruins, as those who chose to go there during the recent Notte Bianca, is to get in touch with the many spirits of the place. The recently-discovered tunnels and rooms, about whose existence nobody knew, were a revelation only to those whose age does not go back to the years when the Opera House was in use.

Somehow, just as baroque seems most suited to Malta, its stone and its artistic heritage, so too opera seems the musical medium most beloved by the cultured classes, as against symphonic music or concertos.

It is to the credit of Gozo’s two A’s then that the long-established opera medium has been kept alive in this country. With or without the Opera House in Valletta, with or without the Manoel and MCC, these two clubs have merited the gratitude of all those who hold Maltese culture to heart.