Gozo’s main classical music festival – Gaulitana – is now on until April 2.
Acclaimed by the public and critics alike, the Opera+ Weekend (March 31-April 2) will include three days of cultural bonanza highlighted with the full-scale production of Madama Butterfly at the Aurora Opera Theatre.
Miriam Gauci will return to grace the stage leading a stellar cast, featuring Vincenzo Costanzo, one of the top 10 tenors worldwide, while Colin Attard will conduct the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra with Enrico Castiglione reviving his production from the Teatro Antico di Taormina.
Evening concerts will include a number of international and local established artists. These include Michael Laus, the Goldberg Trio and a solo recital by Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s newly appointed assistant leader Reggie Clews, besides artists coming from South Korea, Russia, US and Egypt.
This year’s edition will also feature Artist-in-Residence Alexander Frey, a musician defined by Leonard Bernstein as “a wonderful spirit”. Apart from recitals, he will collaborate with a local artist on a work presented during the festival. An Espresso series will present weekly lunchtime concerts for civil servants, while Talk will include a number of talks related to upcoming concerts. GAULearn, the festival’s educational programme will feature again #Opera4me, an initiative rendering opera more accessible to young students.
In line with Gaulitana’s organic nature, this edition will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of the death of composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, defined by Puccini as the “greatest hope of German music” and regarded as one of the founders of film music.
The festival will open with a semi-staged performance of the musical Show Boat at the Grand Hotel in Mġarr on Saturday at 7.30pm, while the finale will feature Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik at St Francis church in Victoria on April 2.
Gaulitana is supported by the Gozo Cultural Support Programme of Arts Council Malta in collaboration with the Gozo Ministry and the Malta EU Presidency.
www.gaulitanus.com