Astra Theatre is known for delivering opera productions with excellent weight and scale. A completely new production of Verdi’s flagship Aida, which is being staged as the kingpin of the annual Festival Mediterranea, promises to be nothing less than top tier.

This is the third time Astra is putting on Aida, after introducing Verdi’s ever-popular masterpiece to the public almost three decades ago.

The opera, in fact, had a two-house run on June 3 and 5 of 1988... the management being encouraged by a very positive and successful double bill three months earlier with L’Elisir d’Amor and Lucia di Lammermoor.

At the time, Impresa Fasano (from Rome) was entrusted with the whole set-up, providing the leading singing roles, the director and scenery. The Astra choir and the comparse were locals. This venture paid dividends, because the whole set-up was engaged, lock, stock and barrel, for a re-run in August of the same year at St Paul’s Cathedral Square in Mdina.

This proved to be a massive effort by the management of Astra, requiring solid groundwork, excellent logistics and long hours of scenery-building and rehearsing, spanning a long fortnight in mid-August.

The same opera was produced in 1999.

A decade later, Aida was again on the cards at the Astra, in May 1999. This time round it was management’s responsibility to engage the director, singing roles, scenery set-up and costume preparations. The result was what the local opera buffs termed the ‘Golden Aida’.

Since then, Astra theatre’s opera productions have gone places and to-day would grace any well-established Opera House anywhere. In fact, opera at the Astra has contributed in no small measure to turn Gozo into an opera destination of quality, with multiple spin-offs on various levels.

A mature and confident team, including the opera chorus, spearheaded by Joseph Vella, is the sure guarantee of another milestone in the opera productions.

Aida runs on October 27 and 29. It kickstarts the 15th edition of Festival Mediterranea. The event is supported by the Gozo Cultural Support Fund. Booking is now open on 2155 0985 or by sending an e-mail to bookings@mediterranea.com.mt. Online booking is available on www.teatruastra.org.mt.

www.mediterranea.com.mt