Culture in the balance

Rarely has such a preposterously misguided opinion been reported in The Times - Opera In The Balance, (April 23). Readers can be forgiven if their immediate conclusion was that Peter Fenech, who is the Manoel Theatre chairman, is merely defending his turf but it is much worse than that.

First of all, it would be interesting to learn from which survey Dr Fenech arrived at the measly figure of "700-odd people" interested in opera.

This flies in the face of what happens annually before our very eyes at the Gozo opera houses, not to mention the Manoel Theatre.

Opera lovers book expensive tickets weeks or months in advance for four annual opera performances in Gozo, which are invariably performed to tightly-packed full houses.

Assuming that the two theatres in Gozo have 1,000 seats each (probably an underestimate) and that there are two performances of each opera at the two theatres, this would mean an attendance of no less than 4,000 patrons.

Surely, Dr Fenech must be blind to base assertions on the result of an opera or two and glibly say that "the numbers are simply not there"! Such wild speculation is simply not on and it is very arrogant of Dr Fenech to dub other opinions as "hullabaloo".

By what kind of logic does Dr Fenech conclude that the €90,000 loss after the latest edition of the BoV Opera Festival can be attributed to a paucity of opera lovers and not to mismanagement? This presumably also refers to the performances of two relatively (to put it mildly) unknown operas, Riders To The Sea and Le Pauvre Matelot.

These performances may have been poorly attended for two simple reasons, namely, unawareness of these operas because of their relative obscurity and inadequate promotion aimed at engaging interest. To this is added the simple fact that, though the choice was an interesting one, Malta is not ready for slightly avant-garde performances. Such performances should be preceded by an intelligently-planned and educational process. This also applies somewhat to the Magic Flute by virtue of it not being Italian opera, the latter being the far-out favourite fare of Maltese opera lovers.

The crowning cherry on Dr Fenech's badly-cooked cake is this: Just because a concert theatre is referred to as an "opera house" does not mean that only opera can be performed in it. Is it possible that Dr Fenech has not heard of orchestral concerts, ballet, stage plays and all kinds of serious or popular entertainment, which can equally be performed in such a theatre? Surely he is aware that Malta's badly-needed theatre would not only serve as an "opera house"?

It is unbelievable how a person occupying as influential a position as Manoel Theatre chairman, besides quoting wildly incorrect estimates, bases an argument on the assumption that a theatre must be restricted to opera just because it happens to be referred to as an opera house!

Then there is the question of basic cultural formation in Malta. This is typified by the barbaric act of removal of Radju Bronja some years ago in order to save a few liri. This was Malta's only true cultural radio station, which had a small but significant following that would have gradually increased. It had great potential to promote the love of the arts, in particular music, including opera and, not least, our Maltese culture.

In the absence of such a radio station (or television station, for that matter) solely dedicated to culture, such as Radju Bronja, how can we, or Dr Fenech, expect people to be even aware of lesser-known compositions by Vaughan Williams or Darius Milhaud when almost all we get on our radio and television stations is trivia?

It also goes without saying that the love of music must also be fostered in schools. Another way to imbue a love of the arts would be to offer cheap subsidised tickets to youngsters.

What Dr Fenech had to say to his interviewer was very sad indeed. His misguided attitude (like that behind the removal of Radju Bronja) bodes ill for the future of culture in Malta. If the decision to build our opera house is based on such uninformed opinions, then opera and our culture is truly in the balance.