The Sliema Symphony Band conducted by Mro Ronnie Debattista will hold its annual Celebrity Concert for Europe on Saturday 24 March at the Sir Temi Zammit Auditorium of the University, Msida at 7pm.
Main international guests will be leading tenor from Croatia, Voljen Grbac, supported by pop singer Vivien Galeta who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. He will perform Italian and Neopolitan classical songs like Granada; Mario Lanza’s landmark song Because and Rossini’s flamboyant song La Danza, Vivien will interpret selections from famous musicals like Memories from Cats, I Don’t Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mina’s greatest hit Grande, Grande, Grande. Tenor Voljen Grbac and pop singer Vivien will perform as duettos All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, Il Tango delle Capinere, La Spagnola and in the gran finale will give a special rendition of Claudio Villa’s Il Tuo Mondo partly in the original Croatian version and concluding with the Italian lyrics.
Considered as one of Croatia’s international standard bearers, Voljen Grbac was born in 1956 in Vincovci and currently resides in Rijeka where he is the first soloist tenor at its Opera House. He graduated from the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory in Trieste, Italy, and underwent specialisation studies in Madrid, Spain. He performed more than 25 first roles in operas like Tosca, Il Trovatore, Carmen, Pagliacci, Faust and La Traviata in leading opera houses in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Slovenia. In April on his return from this Malta concert, he will be the leading performer as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca in Rijeka’s Opera House. The Sliema Band’s special contribution to musical excellence will be the performance on the trumpet by Sigmund Mifsud of his extraordinary arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Sigmund Mifsud is an established professional trumpet player with the National Orchestra, conductor and renowned arranger of highly challenging compositions.
This year’s edition of the Celebrity Concert for Europe marking the Sliema band’s memorable first-ever live performance in Brussels of Malta’s National Anthem following the accession in the European Union, includes also Ronnie Debattista’s original composition “Fanfare and Theme” and Jean Treves’ selection entitled Bonjours Paris. Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and Cardenio Botti’s Inno Sliema will bring to an end this Celebrity Concert for Europe.
Tickets are obtainable from Societa’ Filarmonica Sliema 34, St Trophimus Street, Sliema, 9944-7434, Aqua Marina Dive Systems, Gzira, 2131-7137, Simler’s confectionery and MAJ Morris Stationers in Sliema and La Valette Band Club, Republic Street, Valletta. Ticket’s hotline: 9944-3460.