The Three Palaces Early Opera and Music Festival returns to Valletta next month (from 1 to 12 November) after two years in the virtual world, creating palaces in our minds from behind screens. "What a treat it is this year," says artistic director Michelle Castelletti. "We are delighted to be focusing on both music and on the premise that 'our ordinary is actually extraordinary' using the sounds and the settings of the city's magnificent buildings together to give the listeners a unique experience."
The 10 different events include a performance by world-renowned British mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly in a lush recital of lieder, preceded by Maltese opera singer Nicola Said with a song-cycle of Strauss bringing the Viennese Seccession to the Museum of Archaeology.
"We are celebrating the history of Malta with two major works by the late Maestro Joseph Vella," continues Michelle. "His oratorios Rewwixta and Il-Belt Rebbieħa were both inspired by tales from the past, important moments in Maltese history. Il-Belt Rebbieħa, marking the glorious winners of the 1565 siege and Rewwixta, which describes the Maltese uprising at the end of the 18th century against the French. The latter will be performed at St Lawrence Parish Church, Birgu - the first time The Three Palaces Festival has used a venue in The Three Cities.
"We're absolutely delighted that, as part of the festival event, the ORA Singers will be performing Floral Tribute, an acrostic poem written by British poet Laureate Simon Armitage to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, set to music in a newly-commissioned work by the brilliant composer Toby Young. The whole evening will be pairing reflections on the music of the Renaissance, the Golden age of Elizabeth I with the glorious polyphony of Tallis and Byrd. "These gems are some of the most exquisite pieces of choral music in the world and in the magnificent St John's Co-cathedral we'll be showcasing the old and the new together."
Festival visitors can also choose one or both of two great Handel works, both of which are being staged in Malta for the first time, in a beautiful first-time partnership with the Early Opera Festival (artistic director: Kenneth Zammit Tabona). The flirtatious opera Partenope, with typical Italian flourishes, tells of several suitors who compete to win the hand of Princess Partenope for whom the city of Naples was named. Very different in tone, the story of oratorio Belshazzar (performed by Maltese soloists, KorMalta and the Valletta Baroque Ensemble) is based on the biblical account of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus the Great and the subsequent liberation of the Jews, recounted from the Book of Daniel.
Alongside the traditional, the festival offers several very different and innovative events including a visually-arresting immersive interdisciplinary event with the silent German horror film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari at its core with overlaid imagery, a spine-tingling soundscape provided by live four-piece group Minima with electric guitars and drums, and episodes of choreographed dance. Looking to the sky, the astrological classic The Planets by Holst has been reinterpreted with a jazz by Pete Long and Ronnie Scott's All Stars, following on from the Duke Ellington re-imagining, and for a family audience, in The Emperor's Feast, a series of traditional wooden Czech marionettes from Karromato Theatre offer a comical look behind the scenes as Mozart creates an opera in a colourful miniature replica of a baroque theatre. Loosely based on Mozart's Impresario, the movements of the marionettes, teamed with the magic of shadow theatre, promise unexpected delights for all ages.
To see more on all the festival events visit www.festivals.mt/ttp