The chairman of the national theatre strongly opposes having another opera house, believing there were only 700-odd people interested in the art, shedding doubt on their genuineness and the survival of opera.
Peter Fenech has the experience of the BOV Opera Festival to back him; it has struggled for the last decade, the latest edition leading to a €90,000 loss.
"No chairman in his right mind would put up another opera on that basis. So what has to give? The opera? Its formula? Do we need more sponsors despite the substantial funding from BOV?"
Putting up an opera was so expensive it was never expected to fund itself but neither could the theatre just keep on losing money.
"The numbers are simply not there!"
Dr Fenech categorically stated that whoever said Malta needed another opera house did not know what they were talking about, referring to them and their opinions as "hullabaloo".
Tenor Joseph Calleja was among those who believed Malta needed a proper opera house because the Manoel Theatre, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and St James Cavalier, all in Valletta, were inadequate.
But Dr Fenech warned about its feasibility, not only from a financial perspective but also from the human resources and patronage point of view.
"Let's talk sense... There is not even one production house that wants to stage an opera once a year! That is why we do it, because nobody else wants to!"
Dr Fenech questioned whether those in favour of an opera house actually bought a ticket to the theatre's festival. The answer: "We had two operas of excellent quality. Riders To The Sea sold under 20 per cent.
"Where are the opera goers? Those who love opera would have come?"
For the Magic Flute, apart from the sold-out night to foreigners, the bulk of the audience was invited and the theatre could not even sell the remaining seats to the "so-called opera lovers, those who are so willing to criticise but do not attend".
Dr Fenech understood artists wanted a better opera stage but said that did not necessarily have to come by building a new opera house... Refusing to spell out the other alternatives, he simply said: "It will come!"
The problem was not the building cost but recurrent expenditure. A new opera house required human resources, which were sorely lacking. "We already have problems finding technical staff for the theatre. At one point we even had to bring over lights personnel from the UK," Dr Fenech said.
The theatre invested in the engagement of musical director Brian Schembri, who spent days putting up a programme with top European musicians. But it lost money on practically every musical event this year, Dr Fenech admitted.
"Where are these people? Why? Are they only prepared to criticise? Do they only come to be seen at the theatre?"
Dr Fenech did not see the scope of throwing money into an event that did not attract audiences.
However, he acknowledged that the national theatre had the distinct role of providing for the cultural areas that had no supply, so he was not prepared to throw in the towel.
The future of opera at the Manoel required lateral thinking because the traditional formulas were not successful, Dr Fenech said. The market had to be offered the product it wanted, which could be a shorter or more spread-out version of the festival, or a change in formula.
The theatre was committed to the Bank of Valletta until 2010 but would be discussing whether the agreement needed to be changed, he said, auguring, nonetheless, that it would be extended for another five years.
A post-mortem is being made and Dr Fenech planned to propose changes.
Nevertheless, he said, "as a responsible committee, we should have opera on our calendar. I do not only make economic considerations, otherwise we would not be where we are today".