The ambassador to Austria H.E. Petra Maria Schneebauer, together with her small, hardworking team recently organized a most enjoyable concert at Teatru Manoel, even before the theatre season was launched which will happen on 3rd October, with violinist Charles Siem and our Philharmonic Orchestra. So this well organized and pleasurable concert was an unexpected bonus to music lovers.
It was held under the patronage of the President of Malta and was organized to showcase four gifted opera singers who were awarded scholarships to participate in a summer course at the prestigious Mozarteum Music School of Salzburg, Austria. I must add three cheers for the generous sponsors whom we warmly embrace in gratitude.
Her Excellency was at the door of the Manoel to greet guests. She looked stunning in a pale acquamarine evening column dress. She always seems to be smiling and is really a star in her own right.
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It is obvious that the frontage of our national theatre is undergoing restoration. The last time I met Dr Michael Grech, Chairman of the Manoel, it was at a Din L-Art Helwa concert. He had explained that the restoration of the theatre’s façade was now in hand: “We have embarked on a project that will see it returned to its former and original glory. Indeed, the neo-classical, somewhat austere, façade we see today is not the Manoel’s original baroque one, and is the result of, let us say, ‘modifications’ in the early 19th century.” Dr Grech explained that following a couple of years of studies, consultations and the application process, MEPA gave the green light to proceed with the restoration and reinstatement of the original façade “as featured in the Cabreo Vilhena, shortly after it was built.” The process , says Dr Grech, will involve the stripping of the paint and pointing and rendering of the masonary, the restoration of the original mouldings around the windows, the closing of the two extreme lateral doors at ground floor level, the replacing of two ionic columns on either side of the main portal as well as a small balcony over the same portal amongst others. Habitues of the Manoel are looking forward to seeing what the new façade is going to look like.
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But back to the concert. H.E. gave a short speech and greeted the Acting President of Malta, Mrs Dolores Cristina, the Deputy Prime Minister Mr Louis Grech and Ministers Dr George Vella, Mr Evarist Bartolo, Dr Michael Farrugia, Dr Konrad Mizzi and Prof. Edward Scicluna. Two president emeriti were also present: Dr Edward Fenech Adami and Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. Quite a few ambassadors also graced the front rows. I must say, I had never been to any event at the Manoel where there were so many ministers. It says a great deal for the present government that after a day’s hard work, several turned up to celebrate our four starlets: Soprano Nicola Said, Mezzosoprano Clare Ghigo, Tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens and Baritone Joseph Lia. Her Excellency said that these four singers were handpicked by Joseph Calleja to participate in the course at Salzburg. Rather than hogging the stage herself DDr Schneebauer (she has two doctorates) asked each singer a few questions about their experience.These young singers responded with enthusiasm, each with a little anecdote of his or her particular experience.
Then the concert started. The singers were accompanied by the Austrian pianist Manfred Schiebel who is both a musician and a conductor, a university teacher and who has appeared either as pianist in his own right or as accompanist in four different continents.
The four young singers have great stage presence and all four will certainly enjoy successful careers.
The concert started with a duet by Clare Ghigo and Cliff Zammit Stevens from Offenbach’s La Périchole, Offenbach the Frenchman with a sense of humour who was born in the town of Cologne and would sometimes sign himself as ‘O. de Cologne’. He is the man who unleashed the can-can on an unsuspecting French public in 1858, when his operetta Orpheus in the Underworld had its premiere in Paris and scandalized the chattering classes.
Soprano Nicola Said gave us an aria from Delibes’ Lakmé. She has presence and voice. Next came baritone Joseph Lia. This was the first time I heard him and loved his voice too. He sang an aria from Rubinstein’s The Demon which I did not know at all. I had heard tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens a couple of times and loved his voice immediately. He sang the popular Questa o quella from Verdi’s Rigoletto. We all love Verdi in Malta. He is considered by many to be the greatest of all Italian composers. His tuneful hits fill his twenty-six operas and the majority of them remain on the bill of fare at opera houses around the world today. Verdi accomplished many things at a young age: he was playing the keyboard aged three, learning the organ at the age of 10 and was married by the time he was 22.
I heard mezzosoprano Clare Ghigo sing, for the first time,
the sultry Séguédille from Bizet’s Carmen which is packed full of memorable melodies that it is guaranteed an almost permanent position as the world’s most popular and most frequently performed opera. Carmen is like a 19th century collection of three-minute pop songs from start to finish. Its steamy nature shocked audiences at the time and Bizet was seen as quite the rebel for having set to music something so apparently salacious. Bizet wrote mass-market music in the very best sense of that phrase. I could see Carmen again and again… and again… and I have. I want excerpts of it played at my funeral. Forget about some Requiem mass or worse.
These singers of enormous promise sang a dozen arias or duets between them and the time flew. They sang with flair and imagination as well as joie de vivre. There is bloom and allure in their voices. The concert ended with the Brindisi from La Traviata, Dumas’story of ‘the fallen woman’ in La Dame aux camélias, a most fitting climax to a pleasurable concert. Of course it was followed by Austria’s national anthem.
We emerged from the Turkish bath ambience of the Manoel towards the Casino Maltese where an elegant reception gave us a chance to talk to the singers and discuss the concert. I hear that there is a project to introduce air conditioning at the Manoel, hopefully with EU money. That would really enhance its use.
The streets of Valletta were buzzing with activity. I understand that more permits were given to restaurants to place tables outside, which makes a great deal of sense.
Another delightful evening had come to an end. Thank goodness we had managed to park near The Palace as my feet were killing me by now even if I had worn quite sensible heels. Ah! For winter to come and save us from this heat and humidity. I do so detest it.