The National Orchestra and the Manoel Theatre are joining forces to put on Charles Camilleri’s opera Il-Weghda at the Manoel on Thursday 24 and Saturday 26 May. The work is being performed in honour of the composer, who turned 75 last year.

Composed to a libretto by Joe Friggieri, Il-Weghda was first produced at the Manoel Theatre in May 1984, and repeated three months later at San Anton Gardens, as part of what was then known as Maltafest, a summer festival of the performing arts. It is the first opera with a Maltese libretto and combines a colourful array of song, dance and other stage business against a traditional Maltese (or Gozitan) village setting.

When the curtain rises, the guests sing and dance to celebrate the marriage of Sidor, the village schoolmaster, who is in his forties, and Marì, a country woman in her late twenties. Also present at the ceremony is Lieni, the bride’s seven-year-old daughter from her previous liaison with Nikol.

The parish-priest blesses the marriage, exhorting the newly-weds to be faithful to each other and observe the marriage vows.

After the wedding, an ominous silence hangs over Wied il-Harrub (the Valley of Carobs). The scorching sun sucks the sap out of the prickly pear. Nothing moves, not even a leaf or blade of grass. We learn from a group of village gossips that Nikol, the bride’s ex-lover, has returned to the valley after working for seven years in another country. In this way he keeps his promise to Marì, but his return coincides with her marriage to Sidor.

On a naturalistic level, the opera conveys the same raw feelings of a Greek tragedy, where every event seems to lead inexorably to its sequel, and punishment follows crime with the same kind of necessity that governs the natural world. If you sin, you suffer the consequences, and there is no reprieve. It’s a kind of Old Testament vision, where a wrathful God seeks vengeance for any action that breaks the moral law. Law and love are pitted against each other like two forces pulling in opposite directions, as in a tug-of-war, with law always winning in the end.

On a symbolic level, the opera can be read as a plea for peace and reconciliation after a period of national strife. The valley where the action unfolds can then be seen as representing any region or country in the world plagued by civil unrest.

The beautiful chorale with which the opera ends evokes a strong desire for peace after a turbulent period of violence and war.

The leading roles are sung by Rosabelle Bianchi, Charles Vincenti, Albert Buttigieg, Noel Galea and Sophia Grech. The National Orchestra will be conducted by Joseph Debrincat. The Jubilate Deo Choir is under the direction of its dedicated choir master, Chris Muscat.

Choreography is in the hands of Clarissa Borg, director of Creative Dance Studio, who will be performing five dance interludes between scenes, evoking the different times of day during which the action unfolds. Marlene Psaila, Ninette Micallef and Teresa Micallef comment poetically on the action like a Greek chorus, while Martin and Teresa Gauci provide a lighter touch in the role of the clowns. Little Sara Micallef will play the part of seven-year-old Lieni, the protagonist’s daughter. Set design is by James Vella Clark, while artistic direction is in the hands of the author of the libretto, Joe Friggieri.