Been there... seen that
Fado must be one of the most moving forms of music and Cristina Branco one of the most talented - and attractive - of its exponents. Her recent concert at the Manoel was a real experience - beautiful Portuguese poems brought to life on melancholic...
Fado must be one of the most moving forms of music and Cristina Branco one of the most talented - and attractive - of its exponents. Her recent concert at the Manoel was a real experience - beautiful Portuguese poems brought to life on melancholic melodies expressed through her strong, enchanting voice, accompanied by an excellent player of the Portuguese guitar and a band of accomplished musicians.
October saw a repeat of the Notte Bianca event in Valletta. It is so wonderful to see the streets of our capital city heaving with people late into the night. There were a lot of well-organised activities all over the city, but I mostly wandered about the streets, soaking in the vibrant atmosphere. I stopped to catch a dazzling violin solo by George Curmi "il-Pusè", watched a few music videos at the Plastik tent with very original lamps made out of plastic bottles, just got the tail end of a great music concert at the Manoel - Trania - and danced along to a rocking performance by Etnika. I did manage to watch an interesting version of Oreste Calleja's tragi-comedy Igsma Ihirsa. This is quite a classic of Maltese theatre, given a new lease of life at the Aula Magna (unusual venue for something like this) by Peter Busuttil. I loved Pino Scicluna's performance (I always do) in his role as Pantalone, played with the right mix of energy, credibility and lunacy. I also loved watching Arlekkinu, who was played by an Italian actress named Katia, who moved perfectly, capturing the very essence of the character in spite of the language barrier.
A completely different cup of tea was a play I watched at the Manoel - Steel Magnolias - which is based on the true story of a diabetic girl who flouts medical advice and has a baby, only to die a short time later. The lives of her mother and her close friends revolve round the beauty parlour but the idle chatter of the all-female cast belies strong relationships and great support between friends in the hour of need. The first half of the play was slightly too long but the second half moved along very nicely. I felt the acting was overall very good and the strong emotions were well played without being over-dramatic.
Emotions run high in an outstanding exhibition at St James Cavalier. The World Press Photography Exhibition is an annual touring display, which puts together some brilliant journalistic images. I have seen previous editions of this exhibition in Amsterdam and London and it is marvellous that St James has managed to bring such a prestigious, prize-winning exhibition to our shores. The images displayed are graphic illustrations of our contemporary world. A picture of a lone Palestinian woman trying to hold back a whole battalion of riot police highlights the frustration felt by people in the Gaza strip. A couple posing for a wedding photo would be unremarkable except that the groom has been horribly disfigured in the Iraq war. Zidane caught in the last unfortunate action of his illustrious football career head-butting Materazzi. Images which say thousands of words and which haunt you long after you leave St James.
An equally stunning exhibition is Caravaggio - L'Immagine del Divino at the Archaeology Museum. Again, these are images that linger on in your mind, this time, perhaps, more for the unbelievable technique of this genius who came to Malta 400 years ago. The realism expressed in the paintings is as gripping as that in the pictures at the World Press Photography exhibition, though, of course, the content is not as harrowing. The exhibition brings together great works by Caravaggio from different parts of the world. It is very well presented and, apart from offering the opportunity to see, in real life, such masterpieces as The Sacrifice of Isaac and St John the Baptist, it also gives a lot of information about the Master himself throughout the exhibition and through an audiovisual presentation.
October saw a repeat of the Notte Bianca event in Valletta. It is so wonderful to see the streets of our capital city heaving with people late into the night. There were a lot of well-organised activities all over the city, but I mostly wandered about the streets, soaking in the vibrant atmosphere. I stopped to catch a dazzling violin solo by George Curmi "il-Pusè", watched a few music videos at the Plastik tent with very original lamps made out of plastic bottles, just got the tail end of a great music concert at the Manoel - Trania - and danced along to a rocking performance by Etnika. I did manage to watch an interesting version of Oreste Calleja's tragi-comedy Igsma Ihirsa. This is quite a classic of Maltese theatre, given a new lease of life at the Aula Magna (unusual venue for something like this) by Peter Busuttil. I loved Pino Scicluna's performance (I always do) in his role as Pantalone, played with the right mix of energy, credibility and lunacy. I also loved watching Arlekkinu, who was played by an Italian actress named Katia, who moved perfectly, capturing the very essence of the character in spite of the language barrier.
A completely different cup of tea was a play I watched at the Manoel - Steel Magnolias - which is based on the true story of a diabetic girl who flouts medical advice and has a baby, only to die a short time later. The lives of her mother and her close friends revolve round the beauty parlour but the idle chatter of the all-female cast belies strong relationships and great support between friends in the hour of need. The first half of the play was slightly too long but the second half moved along very nicely. I felt the acting was overall very good and the strong emotions were well played without being over-dramatic.
Emotions run high in an outstanding exhibition at St James Cavalier. The World Press Photography Exhibition is an annual touring display, which puts together some brilliant journalistic images. I have seen previous editions of this exhibition in Amsterdam and London and it is marvellous that St James has managed to bring such a prestigious, prize-winning exhibition to our shores. The images displayed are graphic illustrations of our contemporary world. A picture of a lone Palestinian woman trying to hold back a whole battalion of riot police highlights the frustration felt by people in the Gaza strip. A couple posing for a wedding photo would be unremarkable except that the groom has been horribly disfigured in the Iraq war. Zidane caught in the last unfortunate action of his illustrious football career head-butting Materazzi. Images which say thousands of words and which haunt you long after you leave St James.
An equally stunning exhibition is Caravaggio - L'Immagine del Divino at the Archaeology Museum. Again, these are images that linger on in your mind, this time, perhaps, more for the unbelievable technique of this genius who came to Malta 400 years ago. The realism expressed in the paintings is as gripping as that in the pictures at the World Press Photography exhibition, though, of course, the content is not as harrowing. The exhibition brings together great works by Caravaggio from different parts of the world. It is very well presented and, apart from offering the opportunity to see, in real life, such masterpieces as The Sacrifice of Isaac and St John the Baptist, it also gives a lot of information about the Master himself throughout the exhibition and through an audiovisual presentation.