Amazing musical adventures

A new family music show at the Manoel Theatre is breaking taboos that classical music is boring, intellectual and unapproachable to the uninitiated. The creatives behind Amazing Adventures speak to Veronica Stivala.

The ardent explorer Jomola is on a quest to find the mysterious ‘cisum’ – which can transform the existence of those nearby. She travels far and wide, crossing the untamed seas, the thick forests, the deepest crevices of the earth and even the far away stars in search of this essence. Will she succeed?

The music offers dark picturesque scenes where one can immediately identify a wide array of natural elements such as the wind and the rain

It’s not every day that a classical music concert by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra boasts the projection of a gripping and original story through special effects and pixel mapping.

But then Amazing Adventures is no everyday show. Nicholas Critien is the brains behind the special effects: large format animations will be projected across the stage.

It comes as no surprise that working in a theatre which was never designed for digital or video effects was no mean feat.

“The challenges are positioning equipment, so it is not visible (adding to the illusion of how we create what we do) and also so the projected light does not interfere with the viewing public. To overcome this takes a lot of planning, drawing precise plans of the venue and running experimental tests,” he explains.

The concert features the exhilarating music of Beethoven, Smetana, Stravinsky, Williamsand young Maltese composerSteve Psaila.

One of the creators of the show, Sarah Spiteri, who will also be presenting, explains that the wide array of composers was chosen to expose the audience to five different styles of music.

“Beethoven, Smetana and Stravinsky are classical repertoire, of a different era and style. Steve Psaila is a contemporary composer and John Williams’s film music is highly well known.

“These composers also depict different moods and sceneswhich we needed to develop thestoryline. They blend in extremely well, especially when one looks at the complete package of music, story and visuals,” explains theviolinist.

Describing the idea behind the concert as “multi-layered”, Spiteri notes that the fundamental idea is to create a performance all thefamily can share together. The second point is presenting orchestral classical music in a fun way, in order to break these taboos that classical music is intellectual and unapproachable to the uninitiated.

The younger generation do not have enough opportunity to be exposed to the live performing arts, laments Spiteri.

She underlines the importance of “thinking childlike” when planning such a show. In the preparatory stages, the organisers wracked their brains thinking: “How can we make it exciting and at par with the adrenaline rush they get when they use high-tech equipment?” One idea was to feature the exciting music of young composer Steve Psaila.

The music performed at this concert forms part of his orchestral composition Whispering Winds in three movements, which was composed in 2010 and first performed in 2011.

Psaila’s inspiration came from the majestic Scottish highlands which stirred unsettling emotions: “I remember being inspired by a vision of the sun setting in the highlands, providing me with an imagery of peace and serenity contrasted by an eerie silence and darkness which also made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

The music in itself offers dark picturesque scenes where one can immediately identify a wide array of natural elements, such as the wind and the rain.

How exciting to immerse oneself in such an environment.

Amazing Adventures is part of the MPO family concert series. It will be performed at The Manoel Theatre, Valletta on Saturday at 6 p.m. Visit www.teatrumanoel.com to book and for more information.

Another family event is lined up in March, targeting three- to five-year-olds, and another big project in April at the Mediterranean Conference Centre featuring Mussorksy’s Pictures At An Exhibition.