Malta could soon have another fully-fledged orchestra, three privately-owned theatres and provide a platform for West End productions if a Fgura entrepreneur had to have his way.
It might be a figment of the imagination of any arts lover but Noel Calleja believes his new company - the Premier Entertainment Group - has what it takes to turn Malta into a haven of entertainment.
He says he has all the right contacts and, more importantly, an investment of over €6 million thanks to the help of foreign companies.
Mr Calleja, 33, is evidently boosted by his recent success. He was appointed executive producer for the Malta Trade Fairs Corporation's 50th anniversary activities and went on to produce three main grand-scale productions: Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, A Night With Lloyd Webber and the Malta premiere of Requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Thanks to a strong marketing campaign, over 10,000 people attended the productions, with over 600 tourists enticed to Malta to watch A Night With Lloyd Webber and another 300 for Requiem.
Mr Calleja teamed up with three organisations which, he says, own, run and produce various productions in the UK, the Netherlands and the US. The names will be divulged during Premier's official launch next month.
Eighty per cent of the investment is coming from the foreign organisations, which produce shows all over Europe and the US. The rest comes from local sources.
He admits it was not easy to join forces with the three stakeholders, but after making a detailed presentation and judging his track record, he got the necessary backing.
He now aims to produce high calibre theatrical and musical productions, which will be marketed both locally and overseas.
Mr Calleja says the group is concluding the acquisition and operation of three "major" theatres in Malta, though he refuses to give specific details for the time being.
At present, Premier is in the final negotiations to operate and manage a theatre complex in Gozo.
The organisation says it will sign an agreement in the first quarter of this year to fully acquire and operate a theatre complex in Floriana. This building, to be renamed Theatre Royale, will be refurbished and upgraded to host an arts and exhibition centre and will act as the base of another orchestra to be called Malta Sinfonia.
The theatre will also host the so-called Lloyd Webber Academy of Music, which will run on both full-time and part-time basis accepting local as well as foreign students.
"It is our aim to run our own theatres and stage various productions in them. Some productions require specific amendments even to the existing infrastructure of the building. This is only done when a production will run for a long period of time, which means one would need alternative venues to host other productions," he says.
He says he is negotiating the acquisition of a third theatre in Valletta but he will only divulge the names next month.
Mr Calleja last week issued a call for applications in the media for 42 prospective musicians for the new orchestra, and auditions are scheduled to take place in March. The Malta Sinfonia is expected to play its first tunes in April.
"Competition is healthy and, yes, this would run in direct competition with the National Orchestra," he admits.
The orchestra will service Premier's own theatre productions. Several contracts have already been secured for this year and 2007 and the names Mr Calleja cites are certain to create ripples in the entertainment industry - a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in the UK, a live concert by German composer Hans Zimmer, the world premiere of Lloyd Webber's Phantasia, Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand and Les Miserables.
"I have a strong working relation with both IMG artists and the Lloyd Webber family and together with my partners in this venture we are doing our very best to secure business for our organisation," Mr Calleja says.
As a Christmas attraction, Premier Theatres Entertainment plans to produce Disney's musical The Lion King at a venue in Ta' Qali.
He then plans to launch the company's main theatre complex in January 2007, where the classic musical Les Miserables will run for a period of three months. Arrangements for this replica musical sensation is done with Lewis Mitchell, UK.