Festival at St Catherine of Italy church

A fusion of music, theatre, dance and art with varying religious nuances will hit the right notes for the Holy Week celebrations at St Catherine of Italy church, in South Street, Valletta.

Passiontide, an Easter festival of performing and visual arts, is being held for the second consecutive year by St James Cavalier and the Valletta Rehabilitation Project.

Apart from setting the mood, the festival is also intended to raise money for the restoration of this magnificent baroque church, which, though beautifully restored from the outside, remains bare inside.

VRP chief executive Ray Bondin said that after the Easter celebrations urgent maintenance works on the church's electrical and water supply will be carried out.

Sarah Spiteri, St James Cavalier's assistant programme coordinator, said this year's Passiontide is spread over a week, with the exception of an exhibition of wax sculptures by Fr Charles Vella, which opened at the church on Monday and runs until April 17.

This exhibition, titled Human and Divine, portrays moments from the passion of Christ. It will be open between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.

On Sunday, the Collegium Musicum mixed choir, under the musical direction of Dion Buhagiar, will breathe life into the church at 11.30 a.m. with Gregorian and mediaeval chants, Renaissance and 20th century polyphony.

On Monday and April 15, Sandra Mifsud, accompanied by the ProMuzika ensemble, will perform a dance meditation inspired by Mozart's Grabmusik at 8 p.m. Ms Mifsud has created a gentle, solo dance performance, weaving through the classical form provided by Mozart's music.

On Tuesday, The Passion of Joan of Arc, winner of the Venice Film Festival and Dreyer's silent masterpiece from the black and white era, will be shown at the church at 8 p.m.

John McDonough, on woodwinds, and Alex Vella Gregory, on the organ, will be performing live music at the same time, capturing the emotional essence of the film.

On April 12, the Musique Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Michelle Cachia Castelletti, will give a concert at 8 p.m.., patterned after the ancient office of the Tenebrae, meaning darkness. As the service progresses, the candles will be extinguished one by one, recalling the darkness that fell during the crucifixion of Christ.

On Maundy Thursday, April 13, a contemporary improvised meditation, The Seven Last Words, will be presented at St James Cavalier's theatre in the round, under the direction of Kris Spiteri, at 8 p.m. The idea behind this meditation is to view the last words of Jesus Christ not merely as a historic and religious representation but also as the power these words held.

Ms Spiteri said this was the only event in the programme to be held outside the church, because of acoustic issues.

On Good Friday the ProMuzika Ensemble will perform Haydn's Seven Last Words for string quartet at the church at noon.

Also on April 14, with a repeat performance on April 16 at 8 p.m., established actress Polly March will give an artistic interpretation of the Gospel according to St Mark.

St Mark's account of the events surrounding the Passion of Christ is urgent and driven by an energy unequalled by the other Gospels. Ms March's narration takes listeners to the very heart of the greatest story ever told.

On Easter Sunday, the Church comes to life at 11.30 a.m. with a rendition of arias and classical music sung by sopranos Marita Bezzina and Michelle Cachia Castelletti, tenor Brian Cefai and bass Louis Cassar.

Tickets cost Lm4 for every performance and Lm2 for students and other concessions. A block ticket for eight performances costs Lm10.

For more information call on 2122 3200 or send an e-mail to: boxoffice@sjcav.org.