The festival opens with Gioachino Rossini’s opera Cenerentola on March 5 and 7. This is the first time that this production is being staged in Malta, the organisers said. It will be performed, at the Manoel Theatre, by Teatro Borgatti di Cento with the participation of the National Orchestra.
On March 9 the British ensemble I Fagiolini will be taking the audience on a passionate journey through the rich variety of Claudio Monteverdi’s works. This event is organised in collaboration with the British Council and will be held at the Museum of Archeology in Valletta
Two one-act operas will bring the 2008 edition of the festival to a grand finale. A collaboration between Manoel Theatre and Italy’s Operalaboratorio will present Nino Rota’s Notte di un Nevrastenico and Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. These will be performed and the Manoel Theatre on March 10 and 12.
This is the ninth year that the Bank of Valletta (BOV) has supported the Manoel Theatre to make the festival possible
The BOV Opera Festival 2008 is also being supported by Valletta Fund Management Ltd and Middlesea Valletta Life Assurance Co Ltd