Saturday, 4th July 2009
Debate continues on Piano's City Gate plans (2)
Renzo Piano's scheme has the merit of emphasising the cultural importance of the site and its power to draw people to Valletta to enliven city life. It is a pity he has failed to go the whole hog and to incorporate the shell of the old opera house. It would have not only achieved a wider consent but would also have been an effective foil to his elegantly poised and unadorned Parliament.
It is convenient to dismiss the people's wish of having the old theatre rebuilt as a mere romantic or sentimentalist whim. Or is it as Blaise Pascal once said, a question of "the heart having its own reason which reason does not know". After all, it is a universal sentiment, for many countries which have had their old opera houses destroyed have had them rebuilt as they were. The latest one is La Fenice in Venice.
It is also not quite exact for critics to say that Barry's choice of classical style was not appropriate in the Valletta context. Léon Krier, who is also an architect of world renown and calibre, confirms that the "genius of classical architecture is so pervasive that even the revivals of revivals will be graced with its advantage".
The most important reason that militates against the idea of having an open air theatre is that it may generate a permanent state of disorder in the streets around the theatre not much different from that which takes place during carnival time. It is then that any bright ideas the designer may have had are forgotten and accretions such as scaffolding, seating, lighting, banners, etc., become permanent eyesores. One also hopes that it will not become a venue for disco-like manifestations!
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A commentator below argued that no self respecting Maltese architect would copy from the past, but what about Fort Manoel's chapel? Are the architects involved not self-respecting because they followed the past? For me these Maltese architects have reconstructed a jewel.
Piano's excellent idea of exposing the splendour of St. James Cavalier swiftly faded away with the consequent idea of the floating parlament. The latter is surely not what the Maltese need and desire. This sets me thinking, were the Maltese really listened to?
In the time of the Knights the Gate was meant to deter the enemy, but to the contrary nowadays we need to attract and invite people in and not away from the city
Get the old plans out and build it as it was.
Then no architect can say that he made a copy.
It can be rebuilt as was done in other countries.
The interior could be made more modern with better acoustics and be used for other purposes.
If you follow this link (http://www.frauenkirche-dresden.de/typo3temp/pics/F_823cd2129e.jpg), you will see a wonderful structure - the Frauenkirche in Dresden, rebuilt by hand and restorede to all its formerglory. Is it a "fake"? Are the architects who built it charlatans? Read the caption that accompanies the picture, and you will see how we should be reasonong, if we were not being railroaded.
That is what the Maltese people - those same "people" you so love to mock and deride in a certain blog) want.
And they - and only they - have the right to decide.
Since I returned from England forty years ago, walking into Valletta and some stupid architectural design not exactly conducive with classical architecture at our university, lost the spirit and soul or components only activated by the great masters, now all this make me feel so unproud to be on such grounds and I also have to tollerate scaffoldings ugly appenage in entertaining areas, which me and my wife feel like attending the session in my bathing trunks rather than my wife to doll herself up where I would wear my bow tie and best shirt to complement the pleasant surroundings of a classsical old theatre. The true spirit have been KILLED like hunters killing a bird and what they are left is its body. Some people , including modern architects reading my comment would probably not understand it!!
The old theatre will never be rebuilt, not because of its style but because it does not exist any more. You cannot rebuild something which does not exist; what you can do is copy it. Let me repeat (since this is an exercise in repetition) what I have already commented elsewhere: no self-respecting architect, Maltese or foreign, is going to build a copy. If you do not believe me ask yourself why the Chamber of Architects agrees Pianos proposals and is not in favour of building a copy or imitation of Barry's theatre.