Chiara hits right notes during first rehearsal in Moscow

Treading carefully onto the slippery stage of Moscow's Olympiyski Arena, Chiara closed her eyes and imagined her departed father in the crowd waving Malta's flag.

"The thrill hit me the second I went on stage. I thought about my father standing there calling my name and it spurred me to give a good performance - it went well for a first rehearsal," she told The Times when contacted yesterday.

Her father Maurice Sircausa, who died recently, had been the one to push Chiara, Malta's queen of ballads, into trying her luck at the latest Eurovision Song Contest. His dream was to see her clinch the coveted title after having come so close when she placed third in 1998 and second in 2005.

The feedback from the foreign media to Chiara's first rehearsal, before the semi-final on May 12, has been heartening. Oikotimes.com said she was "ready to qualify" for the final and esctoday.com described her performance as "flawless".

Dressed in black trousers and a floral blouse, the performance is a bit static but the focus is all on the voice, with no gimmicks or effects, except for her trademark wink.

"I'm putting all my energy into my appearance and voice... I won't be moving much," she said.

She oozed confidence on stage and she hit all the right notes of her song What If We, composed by Marc Paelinck and penned by Gregory Bilsen, never once faltering.

Her major preoccupation before she went on stage was slipping since it has been designed almost entirely of different types of LED screens.

"I held on to this person's hand as he led me to the microphone," she said with a laugh.

Everything went smoothly and Chiara said she felt comfortable and at home when she realised that the production team was made up of the same crew she had had met in Ukraine in 2005 when she last performed at the Eurovision. They gave her a warm welcome and that sense of familiarity set the mood.

"I'm really happy that things went so well today," she said, her voice radiating a sense of satisfaction.

The effects on stage portray a dreamy deepwater scene of an ancient city but during the press conference the producer, Munro Forbes, said he felt the backdrop was unsuitable for the song and it would be changed the next time Chiara hits the stage on Friday for her next rehearsal.

Chiara opened the press conference by saying how much she had missed everybody since her last appearance. Her past experiences meant she handled the questions with relative ease.

After the press conference she spent some time enjoying Moscow's balmy weather before going out for dinner with the Malta Eurosong delegation and her make-up artist and friend Diane Nikolic.

"I'm spending most of my free time sleeping or relaxing. I was very stressed before I left Malta and to give my best on stage I need to feel rested," she said.