From 10 to 13 March 2022, Teatru Manoel will present four consecutive evenings of opera events in A Celebration of Opera.
Renowned for its annual full-scale production, Teatru Manoel is now synonymous with opera. The ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, however, limited the production of a fully staged opera at Malta's national theatre this year.
Yet opera-lovers will still have an opportunity to celebrate popular opera repertoire this March. A Celebration of Opera will offer four gala evenings with a variety of music from Baroque to Sondheim, featuring an all-star cast of singers directed for stage by Caroline Clegg with music direction by Riccardo Bianchi and accompanied by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).
"Teatru Manoel is proud to continue our tradition of bringing opera to audiences, through these intimately staged Galas," says Teatru Manoel CEO Massimo Zammit. "As the pandemic continues to demand a different approach to live performance, our exceptional creative team have innovated to ensure that the Manoel, as Malta's operatic home, can still celebrate the joy of opera."
The stellar cast features Luis Aguilar, Albert Buttigieg, Louis Andrew Cassar, Miriam Cauchi, Nico Darmanin, Claire Debono, Graziella Debattista, Nicola Said and Cliff Zammit Stevens, with orchestral arrangements by Veronique Vella and Federico Bonoldi. Also joining the cast for her Teatru Manoel debut will be world-class British Soprano Louise Alder.
"The biggest challenge was making music in spaces and in formations that we never thought possible," explains Mr Bianchi. "My first feeling is a sense of responsibility and respect: given the artistic value of the cast and the MPO, I have the opportunity to work on the repertoire at a high level. But my second feeling is one of joy: at last, we can do what we have loved all our lives!"
Indeed, the packed A Celebration of Opera programme showcases the best of opera through its finest performers. On Thursday 10 March, the event kick-starts with Light Fantastic, a Gala evening of uplifting, energetic and sentimental music from the Operetta repertoire. Here, Soprano Nicola Said, Tenor Nico Darmanin and special guests lead a rip-roaring jaunt from Paris to Vienna with music by great composers including Lehar, Strauss and Offenbach.
Voted as the most popular composer of all time, the Manoel will celebrate the timeless works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Magical Mozart on Friday 11 March. Join the audience as Soprano Claire Debono, Tenor Nico Darmanin, Baritone Louis Andrew Cassar, Bass Albert Buttigieg and special guests perform dramatic highlights from Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan Tutte.
Transatlantic Drift on Saturday 12 March will meanwhile honour the musical exchanges between the shores of the Atlantic. Acclaimed Soprano Louise Alder joins Cliff Zammit Stevens and special guests to perform scenes in English from works by Purcell, Handel, Britten and Stravinsky, as well as contemporary opera company standard repertoire such as Gershwin, Sondheim and Weill.
Finally, Passione on Sunday 13 March completes A Celebration of Opera with an evening dedicated to Italian Opera starring Soprano Miriam Cauchi, Mezzo Soprano Graziella Debattista, Tenor Luis Aguilar, Baritone Louis Andrew Cassar, Bass Albert Buttigieg and special guests. Audience favourites by Italy's finest composers such as Bellini, Cilea, Donizetti, Mascagni, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi will close the event with a flourish.
"I am delighted to be invited to the stunning Teatru Manoel to direct these four very distinct Galas which, in this beautiful and intimate setting, will allow us to reveal all the dramatic nuances of the greatest operatic music from romance and drama to comedy and duplicity," Ms Clegg concludes.
Teatru Manoel's A Celebration of Opera will take place on 10, 11, 12 and 13 March 2022, with all performances starting at 8pm at Teatru Manoel. The events are suitable for audience members aged six and above. Teatru Manoel adheres to the public health recommendations at the time. Tickets are available at €100/€90 for all four concerts, €35/€30 per concert for two or three, or €40/€35 for one concert. Book via email to [email protected], by telephone to (+356) 21246389 or online at www.teatrumanoel.mt.