Mario Philip Azzopardi, Toronto, Canada
A theatre that mirrors our souls
There has been a lot of debate, articles, letters, blogs and online comments, so it is difficult to say anything that might bear any semblance of originality. Artists have commented and have basically been derided and swept away with the brush of hard-hitting and often cruel cynicism. That is fine. It is part of the process.
When all is said and done, however, it will always be the courage of ideas that will be remembered and studied. The cynics will slowly fade into oblivion. The artist creates. The cynic, the buffoon, the commentator, well, they comment, and all they have to look forward to is tomorrow's cause celebre to poke fun at, always in search of that witty phrase that causes a laugh, a twitter, a chuckle. Yes, that's what they are. Chuckle makers.
I am Maltese. I do not need to prove it. I have inherited all that my forefathers have done, undone, created, built, destroyed, hoped for, feared, believed in and through it all I am proud that my country of origin gave me the chances and grit that have propelled me through life. I can only comment on things I know of, which is theatre and film. I accept that. I am incompetent at practically everything else, including designing buildings. But, and there is always that but, I have a mind and I will not be force-fed... anything! When still in Malta I worked tirelessly in the theatre, under the shadow of Ebeyer, Marshall, Farrugia, Azzopardi, Falkland and many others. Today the theatre is alive and strong, supported by a new generation of artistes, all of them victim of that bug, the need to express, inform, warn, educate through the common experience of a theatrical production.
The Maltese indigenous theatre unfortunately suffers an ignoble apathy and the audience is instead relegated to wonderful works by foreign masters. Unfortunately, this does not help much with our angst, our need to find ourselves through an expression that talks directly to our needs, our sense of being Maltese, our fiercely passionate existence. The first step to correct this is to have a national theatre with all the modern amenities that could give vent to our expression in a modern world. And this brings me to the Piano project. Needless to say, I am one of those who oppose it. Why?
Because it is passionless, and if you take passion out of an artist, what is left for him to draw on? Mr Piano's design is deprived of our expression. We the people relied on him to lead us towards it. We depended on the architect to bring originality, flair, imagination to the theatre project inspired by our aspirations, dreams, history, character, nationhood, and alas this is not to be. When one etches out party politics, which is the bane of Malta and the Maltese, and face what is to be built on the ROH site, we are left with an exhausting sense of utter frustration.
Looking at the plans and models, and comparing it to what it was, what it could have been, it feels more like a powerful slap in the face, than a unifying symbol of our commonality.
And you know what? This is not Mr Piano's fault, nor the PM's. Ultimately, it is our fault for we as a nation are held back by the curse of political partisanship. Much of the hallabaloo in the press regarding this subject was more the result of political posturing than a common sense outcry founded on a national sense of being. Therefore we deserve to have a shell for our theatre. It mirrors our souls, our apparent hollow intellect which opts to let party lines dictate our feelings, our preferences, rather than let our national identity inspire us to demand what we collectively as one nation, declare we want and expect. Yes that indeed, alas, is an impossible dream.
I stand corrected. Mr Piano has indeed seen our soul and understood it to the hilt. He's giving us a hollow shell to represent it. We deserve everything we're about to get.
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Anthony Pace Gouder
Mar 15th 2010, 18:50
@George Manduca - If Renzo Piano stated that the Royal Opera House Site is too small for to-days modern Opera Performances , he is either bluffing, mis-informing or its a lame excuse to justify his proposed roof-less VENUE . It is worth pointing out that La Fenice in Venice , Teatro San Carlo in Naples and La Scala in Milan HAVE practically the same footprint as the ROH Site in Valletta. .Even Sydney O H Theatre proper is just a few metres larger including the foyer ! In any case the OH Site in Valletta can be extended by as much as 10 Meters on FreedomSquare and also a few Metres at the back . This Sheffield City Hall , as an example , has a similar area, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2507371 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24840435 Pity that Dr.Gonzi seems to have a blind FAITH in RP.
George Manduca
Mar 15th 2010, 10:02
@J Martinelli
So if I read you correctly - it's the present Ruins that are Ruining our prospects for a decent new theater... If that's the case then I strongly suggest bulldozing what's left and starting afresh!
Again, how many times do I have to repeat that the site in question is large enough for accommodating anything we could ever hope for!
The Valletta site (ROH + Adjoining Square) has a footprint that is sufficient for housing the largest hall of Sydney's Opera House. It can house TWO Prague National Theaters. It can comfortably accommodate the Kungliga Operan or the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (which INCLUDES the MET!)... need I say any more? (I suspect the answer will be yes!)
And where else do you suggest planting an Opera House? Sliema? Bugibba? B'kara Bubaqra?..... hmmm... Mdina would be nice but I fear we would have to pull the Cathedral down first!
Practically ALL the major Opera Houses of *this* world are in a very prominent spot within their respective capital cities (and New York counts as a Capital city in most senses)
Antoine Vella
Mar 14th 2010, 09:17
Mario Philip Azzopardi
All these words just to say that you're like the theatre to have a roof?
George Manduca
Mar 15th 2010, 09:31
Not quite Mr Antoine Vella!
This is to say that we do not want an excuse for a theater made from stretched canvas between half a dozen steel poles! Piano's plan is utterly disgraceful!
We want a REAL building, for God's sake!
J Martinelli
Mar 14th 2010, 00:34
@ Norman Lowell
"We are a people that have lost our soul.
We have allowed a decrepit elite, culture destroyers: to atomize us, empty us of all that is noble and rich.
We are now, as a People: culturally destitute"
Speak for yourself, sir. If you lost your soul, that's your problem.
"culturally destitute'? Where have you been for the last 68 years, culturally speaking?
Mario Philip Azzopardi
Mar 13th 2010, 23:20
@J Martinelli, "...your experience in theatre and acting...' Ok. No more mister nice guy. What in H's sake are you bl.... about? You're a fellow ontarian so we're evenly matched? Matched to what? National Theatre breaking even? Where does it break even? Do schools, hospitals, police stations, break even? The Met? Who mentioned anything about equalling the Met? THe ROH space is....oh what's the use....
Victor Zammit
Mar 13th 2010, 20:12
“I still belive (sic) Mr.Piano could have built a monkeyhouse if that was his brief!” (Mr Kenneth Zammit Tabona). You don't say! Your’re a man of letters, and, like your paintings, your comments elicit a smile. I like that. But 'monkeyhouse'? Assume...just assume Mr Piano will decry his work like Virgil did his Aeneid because Julius Caesar asked him to write it, that will not make it, as it did not make the latter, any less or more valuable and impressive
John Grima
Mar 13th 2010, 18:56
Mario, my fellow student. From the very start of this issue. I suspect that the Piano designe of the ROH is a mear crumb, thrown in to justify the building of a new Parliament. I am convinced the parliament building IS the only interest by the Government here. But, at the very least it has proven very clearly how the Maltese people feel about our heritage We expressed it loudly, passionately and clearly. Therefore, I say again to the powers that be. The reamins of the Royal Opera House is a shameful injury. Please don't add insult by going ahead with Mr. Piano's designe.
Leave it be. Until some benefactor shows up. Before that happens though I think that we should go back to your original suggestion Mario, and start collecting.
E.Muscat
Mar 13th 2010, 18:53
No country has a soul and a theatre or a opera house will never give us one!
We had over 65 years of periodically talking ,and trying to rebuild it to our particular interest.
Whatever we do will always be a compromise.And since 400,000 will be paying for it so that it is enjoyed by a couple of thousand, it has to earn its keep in this day and age of soulless consumerism:so both Mr.J Farrugia and Mr.Martinelli are right to be sceptical:whoever is directly involved in the matter artistically is prejudiced and should only be listened to if he is ready to contribute financially to the project.
Mr.Azzopardi's idea of a foundation to finance its rebuilding in its original configuration (but hopefully with better acoustics) was probably the best idea:where are all the maltese philantropists who will dig in their pockets to leave something memorable and their names engraved in marble as did foundation members of many 'kazini tal-banda' in Malta?
They were simple folk who had a soul ,not pretence and interests.
Joseph Galea
Mar 13th 2010, 17:53
The whole controversy really comes down to a matter of semantics. People keep referring to the project as THE National Theatre. This is not THE National Theatre. I seriously doubt that Renzo Piano was asked to design THE National Theatre. What Renzo Piano has designed, with what was made available to him, is a performance space - and as a performance space with its proposed hi-tech equipment and without the onus of being THE National theatre, it would probably function much better than other comparable open-air spaces such as the Floriana Granaries, the Mdina Cathedral Square, the Luxol Ground, the Argotti Gardens, etc. most of which have hosted many successful performances - both pop and classic - over the years.
Victor Zammit
Mar 13th 2010, 17:48
Be still my heart too, Mr Bondi. As if this will be the be-all and end-all, the mother of all, theatres. Like it or not, it is already a 'must-see' by the controversy it has generated by friends and foe. An 'antihero'. Was it not Umberto Ego (I think it was he) who said that the best service done to the Prince of Light were medieval preachers whose colourful language roused the curiosity of the people who wanted to know more about him.
Lawrence Fenech
Mar 13th 2010, 17:46
Your are right Mario. The Maltese body has been ignored let alone his soul.
J Martinelli
Mar 13th 2010, 15:54
@ Mario Philip Azzopardi Part1
Since I am a fellow Ontarian, one may deduce that we evenly matched. One thing sets you apart and that is , your experience in theatre and acting while I sit on the side of the audience.
Your first part of the article is hardly arguable but as I read on, I started to think that since your experience is mainly in Canada, more precisely in Toronto, I feel that you are making the wrong conclusions.
You clearly oppose Piano's plans: "The first step to correct this is to have a national theatre with all the modern amenities..." Well said and you, having lots of experience should have realized that in order to achieve your goals, Piano could not use the ROH site for what you pine for. Surely you have been at the Met in NYC. Surely, if not having the privilege of being on stage there, you must have at least watched some direct transmission of an opera from the Met. Surely you must have seen what goes on between acts, the changing of props etc, the size of the back stage, the height required to drop down scenery and props.
Continued
J Martinelli
Mar 13th 2010, 15:51
@ Mario Philip Azzopardi Part 2
Surely you must have concluded that if one had to equip a new ROH with the modern equipment and adequate facilities, the stage , change rooms, storage, etc. would at a minimum take three quarters of the ROH site! And then, what will the seating capacity be? You may argue that Toronto has smaller type of theatres and they survive. True, but then I would counter that with comparable theatres elsewhere where the population is not three million but maybe three or four hundred thousand and I will tell you that those theatres hardly if ever break even, some went under and others survive on an annual subsidy by their City Council. These cities and towns have one theatre, Valletta has three. The whole island population is four-hundred thousand of whom only a small minority are interested in live theatre. The small theatres in Toronto charge a tidy sum for a ticket and one cannot possibly expect to charge the same amount for a comparable performance in Malta and if so, how many times a year would one expect the same aficionados to continue to fork out exorbitant charges?
continued...
J Martinelli
Mar 13th 2010, 15:49
@ Mario Philip Azzopardi Part 3
And lastly, may I point out that an architect worth his salt does not only reflect on the bricks and mortar which will ultimately bear his signature but also on the sustainability of the project. I shall not go on about the architectural character of the former ROH because I certainly am not competent in that area, but for those who cry and moan that the 'roofless' theatre will deprive them of the reconstruction of the lost theatre which most remember it by pictures taken before the war, should be thankful that the open air theatre will at least preserve what is left and adapted to an alternate use.
Instead of politicizing the issue and waste energy bemoaning the past, the artistes you write about should be soliciting the government, after completion of the Piano project, to start thinking of a national theatre large enough to accommodate modern equipment, complete with a stage large enough to host opera performances and with a seating capacity large enough and which at prices the market can bear in Malta, would be sufficient to make it viable. And such a theatre need not be in Valletta!
Kenneth Zammit Tabona
Mar 13th 2010, 15:14
Dont give up Mario; I still belive Mr.Piano could have built a monkeyhouse if that was his brief!
We simply cannot do without the pearls of wisdom from Mr Farrugia who, besides judging us with his own warped yardstick, insists, in time-honoured fashion, of muddling the proverbial marsa lettuce with flatulence!!!!
and
Mr Lowell what dicrepit elite are you talking about?We do not need any such thing to destroy us. We did a wonderful job of it ourselves.
There is no elite in Malta anymore.............just dull mediocrity like Mr Farrugia!
Sara Falconi
Mar 13th 2010, 15:11
What does ‘citizenship’ mean in Malta? When you always feel squeezed in an obtuse mechanism, then…really http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMI12VT9_qE&feature=channel
Which is the chance given to the Maltese people to have a say, within their own democracy?
The problem is a system that just brushes off participative processes and public consultations without thinking twice. In today’s world this might be a big mistake for a government.
In mature democracies citizens are not considered just as vote reservoirs. They think, they debate, they contribute to the common good. And they must be listened to.
Citizens souls are not so empty, there are still people working for meaningful dreams to become reality.
JOSEPH ZAMMIT
Mar 13th 2010, 14:57
Well said Mr. Mario Philip Azzopardi. Spot on!
We do deserve a shell because we are missing a soul!!
Eric Soames
Mar 13th 2010, 14:41
Mario Philip Azzopardi: well said, sir. Unfortunately 'margaritas ante porcos', as the die seems to have been cast in favour of the gauche.
Mario Philip Azzopardi
Mar 13th 2010, 14:35
To my horror I have noticed that Norman Lowell agrees with something I've written. I just want to make sure it is clearly understood that I totally reject any association of thought and/or intent with this person. I have nothing to do with his believes which I reject with the utmost of verhemance and regard with utter disgust.
Lou Bondi
Mar 13th 2010, 13:14
This is the culprit. Passionless? Not an artist? No "originality, flair, imagination"? Not sensitive to our "our aspirations, dreams, history, character, nationhood"? Be still my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR0jDODC-Zo
Jovan Mizzi
Mar 13th 2010, 13:04
Mario's letter articulates a very important sentiment. Architect Renzo Piano has (directly or indirectly) succeeded in expressing our Zombie state and we should be very grateful that he has alerted some people. Should the project be materialised as is?
What the Prime Minister will do, and what he will not do, shall very much alter the value of our future.
You and I are certainly Maltese and so is the Prime Minister.
Clearly our different circumstance makes us look from very different perspectives.
Sadly we do not know how to maximise on such great contributions and we thereof prefer to destroy our potential by enforcing arguments from our limited vision.
Sometimes we wake up and I see hope. Yesterday Minister Tonio Fenech noted “The government is sometimes losing the best value offers because of some simple administrative mistake," If we think this way, we might all win so much more.
For decades, Dr Edward de Bono has employed very simple and most effective tools that have improved the decision taking of major international entities.
Dr Edward de Bono is a Maltese person whose help, on this matter, ought to be hunted.
Anthony Paris
Mar 13th 2010, 12:21
It has always been said that people get the government they deserve.
J Farrugia
Mar 13th 2010, 12:16
we never were a cultured people. And as I have stated for many times my idea is to leave this site as it is: a fitting memorial to the stupidity of the Maltese people. I have said this before that we cannot have another theatre for the elite which will run at a loss. It would be a new drydocks for us. Always milking the people out of its hard earned wages. For what? Just to please some nut who will once more dare to throw the crucifix to the wall. In our national theatre. No. never will it be said that the new theatre will host such vulgarities. Let the world renowned Renzo Piano do his work. at least he knows what he is doing. And the PM will be forever remembered that after all these years of discussions where no one agreed in principle on any designs, even maltese architects' designs, the PM finally found the courage and had the determination to put his words into action. for better or for worse. But with good intentions.
Norman Lowell
Mar 13th 2010, 10:48
"Therefore we deserve to have a shell for our theatre.
Mr Piano has indeed seen our soul and understood it to the hilt. He's giving us a hollow shell to represent it. We deserve everything we're about to get."
Spot on!
We are a people that have lost our soul.
We have allowed a decrepit elite, culture destroyers: to atomize us, empty us of all that is noble and rich.
We are now, as a People: culturally destitute.