Summer vibes

Met Summer Encores: Carmen

Wednesday, June 19, at St James Cavalier, Valletta

Richard Eyre’s hit production stars Elina Garanca as the seductive gypsy of the title, opposite Roberto Alagna as the obsessed Don José. “Carmen”, says Eyre, “is about sex, violence, and racism and its corollary – freedom. It is one of the inalienably great works of art. It’s sexy, in every sense. And I think it should be shocking.”

Gladiators Fight Night 5

Friday, June 21, at the Greek Theatre, Ta’ Qali National Park

This exclusive event presents the much-awaited rematch between Maltese professional kickboxer Daniel “The Jet” Zahra (WKN Professional European Champion) and Portugal’s top fighter Bruno Torres (WKN Professional World Champion) for the WKN World Professional K-1 World Title sanctioned under the World Kickboxing Network. The event is also supported by the Malta Sports Council.

Tenishia: Total Access

Saturday, June 22, at Aria Club, San Gwann

Celebrating over 200 episodes of Tenishia: Total Access on Vibe FM, Tenishia take their highly acclaimed radio show to the open-air Aria Club. Following their gigs at Privilege in Ibiza, Prague and Poland, the Maltese duo make a welcome stop in Malta for one summer party before they continue with their world tour. This includes their residency at the massive Global Gathering festivals and their second performance at Tomorrowland.

Gloriana live from the Royal Opera House

Monday, June 24, at the Eden Cinemas, St Julian’s

Benjamin Britten’s breathtaking opera will be showing live at the Eden Cinemas for one night only. Direct from the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden, the new staging of Gloriana will commemorate three major anniversaries including the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation and the opera’s premiere at the Royal Opera House, as well as the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten.

Showing on Malta’s largest screen, Gloriana is sure to delight audiences as each emotion is vividly captured.

Malta Arts Festival

From Sunday, June 30, to Sunday, July 14, various locations

There’s the passion of flamenco, a cutting-edge visual arts exhibition, Shakespeare’s Globe, harrowingly intimate dance-theatre, bracing brassy music and orchestral concerts and even a performer-based circus show – the 15-day-long Malta Arts Festival promises to be more intriguing than ever.

With a varied programme of theatre, music, dance and visual arts, the Malta Arts Festival offers a broad range of genres and artistic forms. Returning this year are some well-loved and familiar acts. Shakespeare’s Globe is back with The Taming of the Shrew and so is Puerto Flamenco, whose passionate rhythms will open the festival on Sunday, June 30 and Monday, July 1. The Kronos Quartet, celebrating their 40th anniversary, will perform on Tuesday, July 2.

The festival will host a number of workshops and residencies. One workshop will be held by Kronos Quartet, while Wayne McGregor and Random Dance will organise a workshop for dancers. A third workshop with members from Shakespeare’s Globe will be held on Tuesday, July 2, and Thursday, July 4.

One of this year’s two festival commissions will feature the return of the Big Band Brothers in Ftakar 3, based on the lyrics of poet Joe Friggieri. The other festival commission, Darirari, is produced by Malta-based Ċirku Malta and features professional international circus performers, local artists and craftsmen.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will close the festival in grand style on Sunday, July 14, in a concert featuring the popular Rhapsody in Blue, conducted and performed by Wayne Marshall.

The Malta Arts Festival is a member of the European Festivals Association and is supported by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. Mario Frendo is the artistic director.

Luciano

Friday, July 5, at Club Shoosh, Buskett

After conquering Chile’s electronic music scene by the age of 21, Lucien Nicolet (Luciano) moved to Europe, determined to reach new DJ heights. Luciano started playing at underground events in Ibiza and secured his first official DJ gig for Sven Vath’s Cocoon club night. Then he formed a partnership with Ibiza’s notorious afterhours club Circo Loco at DC10, where he remained a resident for six years

Luciano rose from the underground DJ scene to become a true champion of house and techno. His productions were also a key factor to his success. Luciano’s long and impressive discography includes releases on labels such as Perlon, Peacefrog, Poker Flat and Cocoon, but his greatest achievement is founding Cadenza Records and its digital offshoot Cadenza Lab. Cadenza is currently one of electronic music’s most daring, credible and exciting imprints.

The Singing Flute

Friday, July 5, at Villa Bologna, Attard

International flautist Andrea Kuypers will be back in Malta to perform in a sparkling concert. This event will be the closing concert for a series of flute master classes, which will be held by Kuypers.

The concert repertoire will feature an international cast of flute composers with an eclectic choice of works spanning from the baroque to the contemporary period. The programme will reflect the mainstream flute repertoire, portraying the works of Blavet, Gaubert and Roussel. The repertoire will also feature the lyrical and beautiful Vocalize by Rachmaninov as well as contemporary compositions by Schocker and Scott.

Malta International Music Festival

From Friday, July 12, to Saturday, July 20, various venues

The Malta International Music Festival is a non-profit arts organisation fully dedicated to teaching and performing classical music at the highest standards. The festival takes place twice a year and young talented artists, teachers, amateurs and piano lovers of all ages from all over the world are invited to participate in this inspiring festival.

The aim of the festival is to provide the best learning experience for everyone by combining an intensive educational programme with an outstanding concert series presented by world-class musicians. All participants will have the opportunity to work with internationally acclaimed professors and artists and to participate in recitals, educational workshops, lectures and master classes. Selected participants will also have the opportunity to perform in concerts in prestigious venues all over the island.

In addition, the festival organises the Young and Upcoming Artists concert series. These 30- to 40-minute concerts, preceding guest artists’ evening concerts, will feature an array of extraordinarily talented young musicians living and studying in Malta.

The Audience

Thursday, June 13, Friday, June 21, Saturday, June 29, and Thursday, July 4, at St James Cavalier, Valletta

Helen Mirren reprises her Academy Award-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in the West End production of The Audience, broadcast as part of National Theatre Live.

For 60 years Elizabeth II has met each of her 12 prime ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. This meeting is like no other in British public life because it is strictly private. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses.

The Audience breaks this contract of silence and imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each prime minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional, sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive.

The Audience is directed by Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry.