Italian restorer Sante Guido and his team are to restore the Manoel Theatre's proscenium arch during the summer months in time for the next theatre season, which starts in October.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Manoel Theatre boardroom yesterday, Prof. Guido - who was also responsible for the first two phases of restoration - said restorers would work on the six boxes on stage, part of the roof and the four columns that make up the proscenium arch.
Prof. Guido said one main task for his team was to remove the false gold and guilding paint (porporina) that had been applied over the original gold during interventions in the past. Showing various details of the columns and the boxes on slides, Prof. Guido pointed out that restorers would have to apply stucco in a number of cracks present in the structure. He explained that due to the Maltese summer heat, it was not unusual for cracks to appear in wooden structures, mainly because the heat caused wood to contract.
Photographs also showed that parts of the columns had paint droplets, probably spilled by stage men painting props or sets on stage through time. In some places, especially those that were not easily accessible to cleaners, so much dust had accumulated that it stuck to the surfaces.
Prof. Guido pointed out that some places had a number of layers of clear varnish applied to them in the past. This, he said, showed that people had tried to protect the guilding of the theatre, albeit in a rudimentary and unprofessional manner.
Peter Bolech, chief executive officer of Malta International Airport, said the Manoel Theatre was an important landmark for Malta's cultural tourism, "that type of tourism we should be promoting today".
Mr Bolech said MIA had for this reason chosen to assist in restoring the Manoel Theatre to its original splendour.
Thanking Prof. Guido and his team for their dedicated work, Manoel Theatre chairman Wilfred Kenely said the restoration of the theatre, which was one of the oldest in the world, was not just about cleaning but about getting to know an important aspect of Maltese heritage and to research how the Manoel's appearance changed during different interventions it underwent during various historical phases.
It was revealed last October that the restoration team had uncovered what could be the original design and colours of the timber structure in the theatre. The second phase of restoration, which involved the maintenance of 24 boxes on the left hand side of the theatre, had just been completed then.
Mr Kenely said that following the discovery, the Manoel Theatre restoration project had informed the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and an official was sent to take photos and to document the discovery. However, the restoration committee had not heard from the Superintendence since.
Besides MIA, which is the main sponsor of the project, Din l-Art Helwa, Computime and the Valletta Rehabilitation Project support the Manoel's restoration.
Rosette Fenech, Manoel Theatre restoration committee chairman and MIA head of communications, said that the third phase of the theatre's restoration project would start in the coming days.
Ms Fenech thanked Valletta Rehabilitation Project president Ray Bondin for following the restoration works with interest and rigour, "even if the VRP has been precluded from honouring its financial commitment to the Manoel's restoration project".
The government had not allocated Lm8,000 which the VRP had committed itself to pay for the second and third phases of the restoration, Dr Bondin confirmed when asked what the financial commitment had been.
Contacted by The Times, a spokesman for the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure - which is responsible for the VRP - said he was not in a position to say whether the ministry had withheld the funds promised for the Manoel's restoration by the VRP but would be looking into the matter.