Roofless theatre sparks new debate

Those keen to see the Opera House ruins rebuilt as a theatre are not pleased with Renzo Piano's plans, even though he managed to persuade the Prime Minister not to turn the space into a Parliament.

Mr Piano will transform the ruins into an open-air multi-purpose theatre while Parliament will be built adjacent to it in Freedom Square, Valletta.

The renowned Italian architect gave an overview of his plans in an interview with The Times carried yesterday but the designs will be revealed in full on Saturday.

The two projects form part of a larger embellishment of the capital city which Lawrence Gonzi had promised would be completed within four years.

While some of those involved in the art and culture scene welcomed the idea of having an open-air theatre, since this was "the next best thing", others contacted yesterday felt it was an "insulting" compromise.

The site was bombed in World War II and has been left idle since, despite years of discussions about whether to rebuild a replica or create a more modern building.

Mr Piano explained he would embellish the ruins and give them dignity while enhancing the building with state-of-the-art technology that would give the place the acoustic properties expected from a contemporary theatre.

But his enthusiastic promise of a "magical" building did not convince everyone. The main complaint was that having a roofless theatre would limit the building's use and not fulfil the requirements of the performing arts industry.

"Malta is replete with existing and excellent open-air locations suitable for concerts," world famous tenor Joseph Calleja said when contacted yesterday.

He feared the space would become another "pseudo-theatre", like the one at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

"This government has achieved many great things. It has secured the services of a world-class architect and it knows the wish of the majority. My appeal is, please go all the way and give Malta its national theatre back," he said.

Theatre critic Tony Cassar Darien was more positive and said the good thing about this proposal was that it was "doable" and could probably be completed within a year instead dragging on forever.

He said that, ideally, the space would be a fully functional multi-purpose theatre but this open-air alternative could be "the next best thing".

Art and theatre critic Kenneth Zammit Tabona was not at all amused: "I have never felt so insulted in my life. This is another confirmation of the poor attitude this government has shown towards culture. We're going to have a roofless theatre which can only be used when the weather permits. But they're not going to be roofless in Parliament, are they?"

He said Malta already had its fair share of open-air venues but there was still no fully fledged concert hall. The roofless venue would not be an adequate alternative since the sound of fireworks would disturb performances. The theatre would also be exposed to the elements creating several restrictions.

"It's not the first time I've witnessed musical scores flying off stands during open-air orchestra performances in Malta," he said.

"Obviously, Renzo Piano has been given the wrong brief. I'm sure it will look nice but it will not serve the function it needs to serve. We're solving nothing. Give it a roof!"

An exuberant former culture minister Francis Zammit Dimech said he was relieved that Mr Piano had finally managed to persuade the Prime Minister to give the space back to the art world.

"I spent 10 years trying to persuade Dr Gonzi and his predecessor to no avail! So hats off to Mr Piano. I suppose he carries more weight than me," Dr Zammit Dimech joked.

He said he was pleased the Opera House would retain its soul and become a modern and iconic building.

Dr Zammit Dimech was in fact the first to use the Opera House ruins as an open-air venue when as culture minister he staged the Arts Festival.

However, he said although this concept made full use of the long summer season, he recognised it would create restrictions.

"But I think even these difficulties can be addressed. There is the technology available to create temporary roofing to protect the theatre from the elements. We're already using such technology in other areas."

Soprano Miriam Gauci too liked the idea of having a theatre instead of a parliament but was worried about the roofless aspect. She said the wind posed many difficulties and so did external sounds.

"I rarely sing in open-air venues because there are a lot of distractions that ruin the experience. In our business we like to use the natural acoustics of enclosed theatres rather than microphones."

She said open-air venues abroad were specifically located to have as few sound distractions as possible but this would probably not be the case in Malta.

Another theatre guru, who preferred to remain anonymous, felt Mr Piano seemed to want to leave the area as untouched as possible so that it could still be rebuilt properly when the right political decision was taken.

"What I can't understand is why we would spend so much money on a theatre that can only be used in summer, when a simple roof would allow it to be used so much more."

Meanwhile, readers flocked to timesofmalta.com to air their views. Although reactions were mixed, those who were critical were immediately slammed by others for trying to halt a process that should have been undertaken long ago.

One person actually proposed a referendum to approve the final plans, while others joked that Malta seemed to have 400,000 architects who thought they were better than Mr Piano.

Still, the fact the theatre would not have a roof was a major sticking point. Some proposed a retractable roof while others said everyone should wait for the designs to be formally released before making any judgments.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com