Joint effort to add value to Festival Mediterranea

Bank of Valletta cardholders commuting to Gozo to watch the operas being staged as part of the fifth edition of Festival Mediterranea can travel there and back free of charge thanks to a promotional initiative launched yesterday by the bank in collaboration with Gozo Channel, the Gozo Tourism Association and the La Stella Philharmonic Society.

The offer is linked to the Three Operas In One Night performances being held on October 26 and 28 at the Astra Theatre, which were also launched yesterday.

The promotional initiative forms part of a series of incentives by the Promoting Tourism In Gozo Working Group, a working group set up last August with the aim of implementing a campaign that has, as its objective, the promotion of tourism in Gozo, particularly during the shoulder months.

Bank CEO Tonio Depasquale said: "The incentive we are launching today is innovative in that it seeks to link the fine cultural programme that Gozo has to offer with a campaign designed to promote tourism in Gozo. This incentive is also innovative in that it brings together a number of stakeholders in a concerted effort to offer added value with a view to making travelling and staying in Gozo more attractive".

Through this incentive, BOV cardholders can travel to Gozo and back free of charge when booking for one of the opera performances. To benefit, one has to spend a minimum of three consecutive nights, including the evening of the opera performance, at one of the Gozo accommodation establishments participating in the initiative.

Those who take up the offer will be refunded with the full fare of the Gozo Channel crossing when they pay for the hotel bill with a BOV card and upon presentation of a fully paid up opera ticket. As an example, a couple travelling with a car taking advantage of this incentive would be refunded Lm8.75.

Gozo Channel chairman Joseph Borg explained how the new incentive ties in with the overall strategy his company is adopting. "As an active member of the Promoting Tourism in Gozo Working Group we are fully supportive of this incentive which should be another link in the sustained efforts being undertaken to promote tourism in Gozo."

Victor Borg, chairman of the Gozo Tourism Association, expressed satisfaction at the "excellent" response by Gozitan accommodation establishments to the initiative and thanked BOV for its cooperation and assistance. He listed the accommodation establishments participating in the incentive scheme: Hotel Ta' Cenc, St Patrick's Hotel, Cornucopia Hotel, Hotel Calypso, Grand Hotel, Kempinski Hotel Resort & Spa, Trulli Villas & Farmhouses and Xlendi Tourist Services.

Joseph Grech, representing La Stella Philharmonic Society, said Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana will be performed in one evening alongside one of Puccini's operas that form his Trittico, namely, the endearing Suor Angelica. The three one-act operatic gems will be staged at the Astra Theatre on October 26 and 28 under the direction of Joseph Vella, Astra's musical director.

Soprano Miriam Cauchi will sing the title roles in Pagliacci and Suor Angelica, Dr Grech said.

The cast also includes Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Emilia Boteva, Italian baritone Marco Chingari and Slovenian bass-baritone Jaki Jurgec. They will be joined by other internationally-acclaimed singers appearing at the Astra for the first time. The list includes Rosa Ricciotti, who will sing the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria, and Italian tenor Antonino Interisano, who will double as Canio-Pagliacco in Pagliacci and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.

The Puccini, Leoncavallo and Mascagni operas will be supported by the Astra theatre Opera Chorus, under the direction of Maria Frendo.