BoV opera festival

I refer to the article "BoV opera festival" (February 21) in which it is stated that Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor will be performed in Malta for the first time at the Manoel Theatre next month.

For the sake of keeping the records straight I would like to point out that this opera was performed for the very first time in Malta on Saturday, November 4, 1837, with Camilla Darbois in the title role, at the Manoel Theatre, then known as the Real Teatro di Malta. Subsequently, it continued to feature prominently in more than 60 opera seasons at different venues in Malta, including the Royal Opera House (40 seasons between 1866 and 1939). During the post-war period, it was also staged at the Knights Hall in Valletta (now the Mediterranean Conference Centre) and at the Radio City Opera House in Hamrun.

More recently, Lucia di Lammermoor was also performed at the Astra Theatre in Gozo in 1988.

The photo shows the frontispiece of the libretto published in 1842/43 when Donizetti's well-known opera was already in its fourth season at the Manoel Theatre. The performance was conducted by Paolo Nani.