Mediterranea Festival this week

The first edition of Gozo's Mediterranea Festival started last Friday at Victoria's Teatru Astra with the staging of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Un Ballo in Maschera, which will be repeated again today at 7 p.m.

Mediterranea will also be organising daily morning visits, starting from today at 9 a.m., featuring churches, museums, panoramic sights, and Gozo's prehistoric culture organised by Gozo's Heritage Society Wirt Ghawdex.

As from tomorrow, Mediterranea will also be staging Verdi's Requiem and Te Deum, featuring tenor Giuseppe Giacomini, choral and symphonic concerts, and a symphonic band concert by La Stella Band, a piano recital by Young Choon-Park, an evening of Prehistory at Ggantija led by Dr David Trump, ethnic music by Etnika, Swan Lake by the Ballet Classique de Paris, and In Suspension by British marionettist Stephen Mottram.

Art exhibitions by Rebecca Vella, Nicholette Vella and Paul Stellini together with a photography exhibition by Daniel Cilia will also be held in conjunction with the festival.

The festival, which is being presented by the Astra Theatre, together with the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta and Holiday Malta, and in collaboration with the Ministries for Gozo, Education and Tourism, Maltacom, Bank of Valletta, Central Cigarettes and Enemalta, is offering a number of attractive package deals for combinations of tickets of different events, which start from Lm20.

The organising committee has also published a Mediterranea Festival guidebook, with all the information on the festival, which can be obtained from the booking office.

For more information on bookings and the festival in general, visit the festival's Website at www.mediterranea.com.mt or call the festival helpdesk on 2155-0985.