The eighth edition of the BOV Opera Festival promises to deliver yet another "bonanza of top-quality, classic performances" by both local and foreign talent, the chairman of the Manoel Theatre's management committee, Wilfred Kenely, said yesterday.
The event kicks off on March 14 with Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff, with a repeat performance on March 16. The production marks the first official collaboration between Teatro Borgatti and the Manoel Theatre, Mr Kenely said.
The National Orchestra, under the direction of Michael Laus, will be participating and the choir will be composed entirely of Maltese singers and is being formed purposely for the production, he continued.
March 18 sees three productions being presented in one night: Domenico Cimarosa's Il Maestro Di Cappella, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona and Mozart's A Musical Joke. All three are being staged at the auditorium of the Sacred Heart Convent, in St Julians. Direction is in the hands of John Gauci, and Chris Muscat is the musical director.
The second major production for BOV Opera Festival is Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, with performances scheduled for March 19 and 21, at the Manoel Theatre. The opera will be produced in collaboration with Operalaboratorio of Palermo, under the direction of Elizabeth Smith, Mr Kenely said.
Maltese tenor Charles Vincenti is attached to Operalaboratorio and will be performing in the main role of Nemorino. For this purpose, he has spent the past few weeks in Palermo, rehearsing with the cast, Mr Kenely added.
For the second consecutive year, the sponsors of the festival are Valletta Fund Management Ltd and Middlesea Valletta Life Assurance Co. Ltd.
"The BOV Opera Festival is the result of a successful collaboration between the Manoel Theatre and Bank of Valletta," Mr Kenely said, describing it as a prime example of the involvement of the private sector in cultural happenings.
Bank CEO Tonio Depasquale said the festival has established itself as one of the main highlights of Malta's cultural calendar. Apart from being followed by Maltese opera lovers, it is also building an international reputation, attracting increasing numbers of tourists, who visit Malta specifically for these performances.
Speaking of the importance the bank gives to its corporate social responsibility, Mr Depasquale said the bank gives back to the community a percentage of its profits in the form of support for various worthy initiatives related also to the environment, education, the social dimension, sports and Malta's heritage.