The Manoel Theatre curtain will be raised on 15 March to usher in the seventh edition of the BOV Opera Festival, one which has become synonymous with musical fare par excellence, attracting both local patrons and audiences from overseas.
Although the format of the festival will run on the same lines as in the previous editions, this year’s festival holds many innovations in store, and promises to be an exciting venture in its genre.
The Manoel Theatre BOV Opera Festival will run from 15 March to 22 March and will incorporate two performances each, of two operatic masterpieces Giuseppe Verdi’s distinguished opera Rigoletto, and Gioacchino Rossini’s effervescent Il Barbiere di Siviglia which will mark the beginning and the end of the festival.
These two highly popular operas will feature the National Orchestra conducted by Michael Laus. The weekend will focus on two innovative events – artistically coordinated by Christopher Muscat – a performance of Henry Purcell’s baroque opera Dido and Aeneas in concert version, and an operatic concert featuring Maltese operatic arias; both these events will be held at the auditorium of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, St Julian’s.
Rigoletto will be performed on 15 and 17 with an all-Maltese cast bar the baritone, Massimiliano Valleggi, who will interpret the title role. The leading figures: Gillian Zammit, soprano; Juan Gambina, tenor; Claire Massa, mezzo soprano and bass Noel Galea will be supported by additional local highly-talented singers as well as the Chorus which will be under the direction of Christopher Muscat.
An unprecedented addition of the utmost artistic value in this production of Rigoletto is the role of soprano Miriam Gauci as artistic director.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia will be performed at the Manoel Theatre on 21 and 22 March by soloists from Operalaboratorio, the vocal nursery of the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, a familiar and most welcome contributor to the BOV Opera Festival, with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.
Tickets may be purchased from the Manoel Theatre Booking Office (tel 21 246389) or from the website www.teatrumanoel.com.mt