Miriam Gauci (photo), the internationally acclaimed Maltese soprano, will perform in concert in Malta after an absence of over three years. The concert will be held in the Hilton Grandmaster’s Suite on Saturday 3 March at 7.30pm.
Orkestra Nazzjonali chairman Lino Attard said 12 elements from the string section of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra will join the National Orchestra.
The orchestra will be directed by resident conductor Mro Michael Laus.
Mr Attard said the concert forms part of the Grand Concerts Series started in 2005 by the National Orchestra. The concert is being organised in collaboration with the Tourism and Culture Ministry, AON Malta Limited and the St Lawrence Collegiate Chapter of Vittoriosa.
AON Malta Limited managing director Joseph Cutajar said the company is celebrating the 20th anniversary since AON launched in the international insurance brokering scene and the 30th anniversary since its Maltese representatives, Mediterranean Insurance Brokers began operations. The company will launch a new image soon, he said.
Fr John Avellino from the St Lawrence Collegiate said the parish is marking the 1750th anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Lawrence with a series of cultural and popular events. “We have asked Ms Gauci, who hails from Vittoriosa, to help us and she graciously accepted,” he said.
Minister Francis Zammit Dimech praised the orchestra for achieving a level of excellence and congratulated AON for its corporate responsibility. He invited other private companies to promote Maltese culture, Maltese music and Maltese artists.
Mro Michael Laus said the soprano has become a fixture at the Vienna and Munich State Operas, and she has gained international acclaim after her appearance at the Teatro alla Scala as La Contessa in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
Mro Laus said the programme will be divided in two parts, the first having a higher opera content. Ms Gauci will sing for the first time Suicidio! from Amilcare Ponchielli’s masterpiece La Gioconda. She will also give her rendition of Casta Diva from Norma by Vincenzo Bellini, Ritorna Vincitor from Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida and Tacea la Notte Placida from Il Trovatore by the same composer. She will also sing three arias by Giacomo Puccini; Un bel dì vedremo from Madama Butterfly, Vissi d’Arte from Tosca and O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi.
Mro Laus said the concert will also feature orchestral pieces such as the overtures of Gioacchino Rossini’s William Tell, Verdi’s La Traviata and Il Trovatore. In the second part, the orchestra will play the prelude to the third act from Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin and the Plovtsian Dance from Aleksandr Borodin’s Prince Igor. Ms Gauci will be singing the popular Neapolitan song Funiculi Funicula by Luigi Denza.
Tickets at Lm15, Lm25 and Lm40 are available from AON Malta Limited offices in Ta’ Xbiex, the orchestra’s own premises in Valletta and online on www.maltaticket. com.