The final event of the Teatru Manoel BOV Performing Arts Festival is the Lieder Recital performed by Maltese soprano Gillian Zammit and pianist Lucia Micallef on Tuesday 7 May at 8pm.

The recital showcases some of the major composers of the art song in the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries. Paolo Tosti, Richard Strauss and Sergei Rachmaninov were all writing songs at the same time in different countries and in different contexts. There is, however, a unifying thread, a common mood, that of an uncertain future. This was the late Romantic Period, when the tremors of Modernism were already being felt. This recital is a celebration of these composers' thoughts, feelings and moods at the turn of the century, yearning for a golden past but very aware of the onset of a new era with all its new directions and diversity.

Gillian Zammit is an established soprano, performing regularly both locally and overseas with an operatic repertoire that ranges from Baroque to 20th Century opera. She is highly regarded as a recital singer with a varied repertoire of Lieder, Spanish and French song, as well as being a respected exponent of Maltese Baroque music, having recorded four CDs as part of a series celebrating Maltese Cultural Heritage. She has performed abroad including recitals in Germany, New York, London, Paris and Romania, forthcoming engagements include performances in England and Germany.

Lucia Micallef studied the piano in Malta with Giovanna Bascetta and later at the Royal Academy of Music in London going on to win the Young Talent Trust Prize. She then went on to study at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Lucia has performed in Malta, Italy, Britain, Germany, Czech Republic and Canada. Lucia has worked with several orchestras including the Virtuosi of London and the Britten Sinfonia  and has collaborated with many conductors including Brian Schembri, Anthony Goodchild and Nicholas Cleobury. Broadcasts include BBC, TVM, Mezzo, and CBC.

Lucia and Gillian have been working together for many years. They recently made a recording of The Love Songs of Paolo Tosti which has just been released by Claudio Records.

The 7 May concert starts at 8pm with a pre-show talk at 7.15pm by Neil Briscoe-White.

Bookings: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt E: [email protected] T: 2124 6389