What to do with the Opera House

Showtime included certain opinions on the Royal Opera House from a selected number of persons (Stone Dead Or Dead Stones? February 3). The variances in these opinions give a clear indication of why hardly anything ever succeeds in Malta.

The theatre might have been branded elitist but the cultural advancement of a nation is of the utmost importance. A good theatre is not limited to lyric opera. The Manoel Theatre has shown that there is a need for varied cultural activities. The problem with that theatre is that it can seat only 600 persons and therefore the expenses per capita are relatively high. A theatre with double that amount of seating would be able to offer a wide range of prices, with the higher fees subsidising other seats that would be within the range of the average worker.

A visit to the theatre is a cultural experience. There are those that oppose the rebuilding of the Barry edifice. As far as I know, all the European theatres that were damaged during the last war (and even later e.g. the Venice Theatre) were rebuilt to their pristine glory. But in Malta, with the political split, anything "English" is wrong. On the other hand there are those that go to the other extreme. Piano enjoys international fame, and I would like him to design a new city instead of the Maghtab landfill, but Valletta is a baroque city. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority objects even to the replacement of old buildings with more habitable ones, rebuilt in line with the previous architecture. So how could Mepa approve a "glass" edifice?

Regarding Parliament, if I am not mistaken there had been plans to house this instead of the "Main Guard" block. The Main Guard itself has no particular significance. Apart from that, with Parliament in the centre of the city, more people would move inside the city instead of staying in the periphery.

A few months ago I had suggested that the German government or at least some German foundation should consider the building of the ruined theatre. The building could eventually be used to house not just opera and the classic arts, but even more so, to serve as a "European" centre where new artistic trends from the 25 (or more) member states could be expanded. It would be the ideal platform where the old could meet with the new and create a true European image.

Therefore, a small group of "open minded" persons, without any preconceived ideas, could start working on a plan of action with a two-pronged aim: (a) to acquire the necessary funds and (b) to utilise the new building for the cultural unity of the European Union (which still lacks any form of cultural unity).

Let us be positive. If Malta were to present a comprehensive suggestion, we shall succeed.