The Operatic Evening is being held at 8pm tomorrow in The Vilhena Palace courtyard in Mdina as part of The International Summer Festival presented by the Stradivari Season in collaboration with the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts.

The second part of the programme will be dedicated to Benjamin Britten’s children’s opera The Little Sweep.

In the first part of the programme, Gillian Zammit and Claire Massa will interpret popular solo arias and duets from the Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville, Samson and Delilah, La Boheme, Cosi fan Tutte, Romeo and Juliet and Don Pasquale among others.

They will be accompanied at the piano by Eleonora Bekova, a member of the famous Bekova Trio whose concert at the Manoel Theatre last November was acclaimed by the Maltese media.

The Little Sweep is staged by young singers and actors from the Drama Troupe, under the direction of Lorraine Aquilina. Gillian Zammit, Claire Massa and Albert Buttigieg will play the leading roles, with Davinia Galea as pianist.

The Drama Troupe staged this opera at the Manoel Theatre earlier this year, and received much acclaim and requests for a repeat performance.

The International Summer Festival, presented by the Stradivari Season, is being held as part of the Summer Cultural Activities Series 2004.

This series, which ranges from music and dance to film and theatre, is organised by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and is sponsored by HSBC Bank Malta plc.

Reservations can be made on Tel. Nos. 9945-7126, 7926-2391 or 9986-4967, or via email: [email protected]. Tickets can be purchased from the Manoel Theatre shop in Old Theatre Street, Valletta.

A few tickets are still available, starting at Lm3. A limited number of Golden Circle tickets (including a free glass of wine) are available at Lm15 from Diamonds International in Valletta, Tel. 2122-0200 or email www.stradivariseason.com

Transport is provided for only Lm1, with collection from any hotel to the concert venue and back again afterwards.

Seat reservations should be made at the time of booking the tickets.