Valletta 2018’s opera season continues, this time with a contemporary opera production of Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea. Two performances will be held at the Manoel Theatre this week.

The production is an adaptation of Hugo Pratt’s popular graphic novel series, Corto Maltese: Una Ballata del Mare Salato, published in 1967.

In his watercolours as well as in his more famous panels, one can easily see the fascination Hugo Pratt had for the beauty of military uniforms, with their colours and their characteristics.In his watercolours as well as in his more famous panels, one can easily see the fascination Hugo Pratt had for the beauty of military uniforms, with their colours and their characteristics.

The opera is composed by Monique Krüs with a libretto by Corina Van Eijk, based on an original script by Tama Matheson. 

The narrative follows one of the adventures of Corto Maltese.

As the world is edging inexorably towards war, Rasputin, a notorious pirate, is busy plying his trade in the Pacific Ocean when he stumbles upon a man adrift at sea. His hands and legs are tied to a raft. His name is destined to become legendary. This man is Corto Maltese.

What did he do to deserve such a cruel punishment? What is hidden behind his enigmatic gaze? Even Pandora and Cain – two teenagers from a wealthy family captured by Rasputin – question his presence. Little do they know that this chance meeting will change their lives, along with those of millions of readers, forever. Corto was born in Valletta’s infamous Strait Street on July 10, 1887, to a British sailor from Cornwall and an Andalusian-Romani witch and prostitute.

As a boy growing up in the Jewish quarter of Córdoba, Corto discovers that he has no fate line on his palm and therefore carves his own with his father’s razor, determining that his fate is his to choose. Corto spends his life travelling the world in search of adventure, ruled by nothing but his own freedom. He is a sailor, but above all, a restless traveller and a lover of adventure, often found helping the disadvantaged and the oppressed.

The minute he sets out to sea, he never looks back, travelling across continents to Egypt, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, China, the Caribbean islands, the Pacific islands, Mongolia and Italy, among many others.

“Since the popular character of Corto Maltese is linked to Malta, being born in Valletta in 1887, this production happening at the Manoel is a great opportunity to promote Maltese theatre across Europe,” said the Manoel’s artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona.

Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea is being performed by the Teatru Manoel Youth Opera at the Manoel on Thursday and Saturday at 8.30pm. Tickets may be obtainedfrom http://booking.teatrumanoel.com.mt .

For more information, visit www.valletta2018.org and follow Valletta 2018 on Facebook.

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