Emma Borg
A series of events by the Strada Stretta Concept to be held over the course of next weekend will be featuring two of the most prolific musical genres for each to compliment the other. The events will be confronting Opera with Jazz and vice versa. The Strada Stretta Concept bravely tackled this 'Opera Injazzata' or 'Jazz Operat' by trusting the chosen musicians to fully explore these genres and create new possibilities for such music. They will be showcasing the best both genres have to offer but, more importantly, will be demonstrating how a beautiful symphony can emerge from bringing together two of the most loved and revered genres.
The events highlight two elements that are very important to the Strada Stretta Concept. Firstly, they are multicultural. Over the weekend performers from Serbia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Malta will be collaboratin. All countries have a rich and different history yet through the medium of music they will be creating something collective and unique. The Strada Stretta Concept doesn't only highlight subject solely related to Malta or Maltese culture but rather creates a multicultural hub where people from different nations can participate in an open dialogue on the arts.
The other important element is that of the bridging of different styles. In this case it is opera and jazz. This, of course, is not a first for the Strada Stretta Concept which encourages and promotes such interdisciplinary challenges. Last November, the adaptation of Bizet's Carmen juxtaposed the opera with Maltese ghana and improvisation. When it comes to music these two genres could not be more different, from their sound to their audience.
Opera is a genre of music that thrives off pomp and is fuelled with intensity conveyed by factors such as the voice of the bellowing tenor to the extravagant costumes of the performers. The term high culture goes hand in hand with opera. This term can easily become somewhat of a double-edged sword. Indeed, it does elevate its subject to a more prestigious and semi-sacred level. Yet the rules of the genre are rigid and are meant to be unquestionably respected. These genres of music are strongly rooted in tradition therefore it is very rare to find innovators willing to challenge the status quo. Opera is not simply a genre of music, opera is the telling of a story. It is best appreciated by an audience willing to forget about reality outside the venue and readily submerge themselves into the world created on the stage.
Jazz is a type of music that is diametrically opposed to opera. Jazz was born in slave and Creole communities, through minstrel shows, Baptist songs, but most importantly because of the spirit of New Orleans. Opera began in Italy in the 16th century and spread within Europe, whilst jazz is the most inherently American genre of music ever to exist. And due to the melting pot that is America, it was easily transported to other countries because anyone around the globe could understand the feelings that jazz portrays. This genre incites feelings of utter joy as well as struggle due to its liberating manner of composition.
These cluster events are very intelligently bringing together matters of high culture with a genre that has always been the people's music. A genre of music where the Manoel Theatre comes to mind before Strada Stretta mixed with a music that exemplifies Strada Stretta in its heyday. Strada Stretta has always been a place for people to experiment. Its boundaries have never been rigid and this event exemplifies that character perfectly. The event brings jazz and opera together to explore their respective musical boundaries and discover how to connect with each other to create exciting sounds.
The events are split up into three sessions over the course of three days. On May 19, the first day, the renowned Serbian trumpet player Stjepko Gut will encounter Maltese jazz expatriates Sandro Zerafa and Oliver Degabriele who will be paying homage to jazz legends Tadd Dameron and Thelonious Monk on the occasion of their 100th anniversary. The second, on May 20, Stjepko Gut will revisit the Great American Songbook. The final event (May 21) will be a musical milestone of sorts featuring Ukrainian soprano Maryana Bodnar, Lithuanian violinist Inga Marcel, & Serbian pianist Emel Hasanoglu. All events follow the artistic direction of Dr. Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, and are being held at Splendid. The Strada Stretta Concept is under the auspices of the Valletta 2018 Foundation.