Joseph Calleja enthrals his home audience

The Maltese internationally acclaimed tenor Joseph Calleja, performed for a 3,500-strong audience that filled the former parade ground on Manoel Island, on Saturday.

He was in the good and hand-picked company of his Moldovan, pregnant wife and equally acclaimed soprano Tatiana Lisnic, Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Zaremba and Italian baritone Vittorio Vitelli.

The sold-out classical music concert, organised by Renaissance Productions Ltd, featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

RPL directors Amabile Zammit and Anton Tabone said it was the largest classical concert to be organised in Malta. It had been launched about a year ago, and the Maltese tenor, who has been appearing in the world's top theatres, expressed a high level of excitement to be performing in his homeland.

"I have never been so excited about a concert in my life - as it has been my baby," he had told The Times from LA.

Mr Calleja's joy on Saturday was visible in his beaming smile after every performance.

He dedicated pieces to folk singer Frans Baldacchino, il-Budaj, who passed away a few days ago and who, the tenor said, would have liked to be there on Saturday but was certainly watching from above, and to the women in his life: "my mother, my wife, my adorable Clara (his daughter) and, of course, Collette (a family friend)".

The concert started around 35 minutes late due to traffic in Gzira, which was also celebrating its feast. An impatient audience broke out into a slow clap now and again to urge the performance to start.

Apologising for the delay, Dr Tabone and Mr Zammit said yesterday the event was a huge challenge and though they would have preferred to tackle it the right way 100 per cent they acknowledge that it was "not as perfect".

They explained they had decided to delay the start in view of the fact that a few hundred people were still waiting to drive into Manoel Island at 9 p.m. when the concert was billed to start. Although both the President and the Prime Minister were there on time, the promoters had asked them to delay their arrival because, due to protocol, the concert would have had to start once the President was seated.

The Gzira feast and problems in the level of collaboration between the promoters and the police exacerbated the problem. In addition, Dr Tabone and Mr Zammit said, the turnout was much bigger than expected.

"This has served as a lesson to us and we shall now work on different parking arrangements and devise ways to avoid traffic congestions. The first opportunity to put this into practice would be this coming Saturday when RPL will hold The Malta International Fashion Show, also at Manoel Island," they said.

Still somewhat of a construction site in the process of restoration, albeit grand in its raw state, Fort Manoel was enhanced by the unique backdrop of an illuminated Valletta, and a starry night sky reflected in the sea between.

The concert's repertoire consisted of a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. Mr Calleja, who had been involved in the organisation, had said he wanted the audience to hear something they liked and, at the same time, be challenged by something they had not heard before. The first part was French, while the second was Italian.

"I helped bring this kind of event to Malta because I want the Maltese to have the best," he had said. "They have always turned out for my performances and I wanted to thank them and repay their loyalty."

The concert could not have ended on a brighter note, with a fireworks display lighting up the sky right above the stage in a fine-tuned and spectacular coordination the moment the music faded out.