My summer has been a whirlwind of culture. First off, I started by not actually being able to watch anything as I was involved in the very successful production of The Pardon Beggars written by prolific local playwright Vincent Vella, as part of the Malta Arts Festival. Performances over, I decided to immerse myself in as many cultural events as I possibly could.
First off was the Joseph Calleja concert organised by NnG Promotions in Valletta. Now, Joseph will probably not remember this, but when we were about 17 years old, many moons ago, we had both gone up to Scotland to sing as members of the Amadeus Chamber Choir. Even at that young age, Joseph had a magnificent voice and great faith in himself. He was convinced he and his voice would go places. And he was right. I remember listening to him sing one of Pavarotti's staple tunes all those years ago and being very impressed.
And listening to him during the concert in Valletta was no less impressive. What an amazing voice. And listening to the orchestra, directed by the talented Brian Schembri, was an absolute joy. I especially enjoyed the 'performance' of Mro Schembri's lovely curly hair, which bounced up and down as he energetically directed his musicians. Give that man a shampoo advert contract.
Next, it was off to watch the performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Globe Theatre's touring company (which was also part of the Malta Arts Festival). Now, this is my very favourite Shakespearian play and has been since I first read it and acted out the part of Juliet at school aged 14, so I was looking forward to it very much. And I wasn't disappointed. I loved the lighting and the staging (the main 'prop' was a camper van). I thought the performances were great, especially those by Bridgitta Roy (Lady Capulet... a part I'd love to play hint hint.), Conrad Westmaas (Capulet/Friar Lawrence) and Marsha Henry (Nurse), who was an absolute hoot.
Something I had been looking forward to for months was the Duran Duran concert, also by NnG. I grew up in the 80's and 90''s (now I'm giving away my age) and Duran Duran's music will always remind me of my early teens. Watching the boys - who don't seem to have aged a bit during the past 20-odd-years - filled me with a sense of nostalgia, but was also the most fun I've had in ages. I positively grinned my way through hits such as Notorious, Girls on Film, Rio, Wild Boys and Hungry Like the Wolf. They gave a great performance lasting over two hours, interspersed with audience participation and a memorable moment when Simon Le Bon leapt on stage wearing a Maltese flag.
Last on my list was watching blockbuster The Dark Knight at the cinema. What a fantastic film. No wonder online movie bible imdb.com gives it a 9.2 out of 10 rating. The story is dark and intriguing. The direction by Christopher Nolan is flawless. The performances by Christian Bale (Batman) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes) are fantastic and those by the supporting cast (including Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine who could probably do it in their sleep) are outstanding too. But the star of the show is undoubtedly the late Heath Ledger as the psychotic Joker. Ledger plays one of the scariest movie characters I have ever seen, notwithstanding the fact that he gets the best - and funniest - lines in the film. If you haven't seen it yet, do so.
First off was the Joseph Calleja concert organised by NnG Promotions in Valletta. Now, Joseph will probably not remember this, but when we were about 17 years old, many moons ago, we had both gone up to Scotland to sing as members of the Amadeus Chamber Choir. Even at that young age, Joseph had a magnificent voice and great faith in himself. He was convinced he and his voice would go places. And he was right. I remember listening to him sing one of Pavarotti's staple tunes all those years ago and being very impressed.
And listening to him during the concert in Valletta was no less impressive. What an amazing voice. And listening to the orchestra, directed by the talented Brian Schembri, was an absolute joy. I especially enjoyed the 'performance' of Mro Schembri's lovely curly hair, which bounced up and down as he energetically directed his musicians. Give that man a shampoo advert contract.
Next, it was off to watch the performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Globe Theatre's touring company (which was also part of the Malta Arts Festival). Now, this is my very favourite Shakespearian play and has been since I first read it and acted out the part of Juliet at school aged 14, so I was looking forward to it very much. And I wasn't disappointed. I loved the lighting and the staging (the main 'prop' was a camper van). I thought the performances were great, especially those by Bridgitta Roy (Lady Capulet... a part I'd love to play hint hint.), Conrad Westmaas (Capulet/Friar Lawrence) and Marsha Henry (Nurse), who was an absolute hoot.
Something I had been looking forward to for months was the Duran Duran concert, also by NnG. I grew up in the 80's and 90''s (now I'm giving away my age) and Duran Duran's music will always remind me of my early teens. Watching the boys - who don't seem to have aged a bit during the past 20-odd-years - filled me with a sense of nostalgia, but was also the most fun I've had in ages. I positively grinned my way through hits such as Notorious, Girls on Film, Rio, Wild Boys and Hungry Like the Wolf. They gave a great performance lasting over two hours, interspersed with audience participation and a memorable moment when Simon Le Bon leapt on stage wearing a Maltese flag.
Last on my list was watching blockbuster The Dark Knight at the cinema. What a fantastic film. No wonder online movie bible imdb.com gives it a 9.2 out of 10 rating. The story is dark and intriguing. The direction by Christopher Nolan is flawless. The performances by Christian Bale (Batman) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes) are fantastic and those by the supporting cast (including Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine who could probably do it in their sleep) are outstanding too. But the star of the show is undoubtedly the late Heath Ledger as the psychotic Joker. Ledger plays one of the scariest movie characters I have ever seen, notwithstanding the fact that he gets the best - and funniest - lines in the film. If you haven't seen it yet, do so.