In our third preview piece ahead of the Gaulitana Festival which runs until May 4, we investigate the events across the island exploring both local and global music. We hear more about the final six events, including the festival finale, from festival founder and artistic director Colin Attard.
Dances for Spring, on Wednesday, April 23, is beautifully appropriate for the season, Attard remarks.
“It is a four-hand piano piece performed by a man and wife duo from Bulgaria and Ukraine, and all the elements are inspired by or dance-related works from Slavonic to Hungarian. These include for example work by Dvořák, a Brahms Rhapsody and Tchaikovsky’s much-loved ballet, The Nutcracker. The music will be upbeat and rhythmic, with that iconic Eastern European sound.”
“Then at the weekend we have a double bill with energetic Italian cellists Duo Tranini – Pontoriero. Excitingly, at the first of these events, they are performing all three Brahms Cello Sonatas, which is something that’s rarely done in a single concert. It will be the longest of all our concerts and very taxing for the performers!” he adds.
The duo’s concert on April 27 will be very different as they perform music from several Italian composers from the early twentieth and push musical boundaries as they explore the connections between Italian musical heritage and the innovative spirit of Stravinsky.
“The following weekend is our opera weekend, the festival’s grand finale,” continues Attard.
“On the Friday (May 2) we have A Journey Through Time in which a French-Egyptian duo Ultra-Son who will perform both on flutes and also with traditional instruments from the Middle East. These include a specific type of harp and percussion instruments too, and th music ranges from the ancient Egyptian era that predates Christ to Coptic sacred hymns and Romantic French works. One of the performers, Mina Ghobrial, is a proponent of modern flute technique so the audience can also expect some unexpected modern sounds from this instrument.”
Ghobrial will also be performing in the final event of the festival, with the Gaulitanus String Orchestra conducted by Attard himself. “Each year we invite an international performer for an event on the final Friday and then to perform with the orchestra on the following Sunday,” he explains.
And in between these two events, the programme includes the annual festival opera. “This year we have chosen to perform Nabucco which needs no introduction,” Attard smiles.
“It is, of course, one of Verdi’s best-known opera which we wrote while he was in his twenties. It is the one that catapulted him into the operatic world as a major composer. It is structured according to the tradition of the time, unlike his later works, such as Aida, and despite being one of his earliest works It is still one of his best. It is full of wonderful melodies, grand choruses and there’s a great overture. The chorus Va, Pensiero is very famous and very moving, as is the aria Dio di Giuda.”
“We picked to perform this opera because the themes presented in the drama remain contemporary – they’re totally relevant in today’s world. There’s a nation in exile in Babylon who are struggling for identity, and longing to return to their homeland. There’s warfare, religious tension, a power struggle, and a king who is so infatuated with his role that he declares himself to be a god.
“These are themes we’ll be discussing with sixth-formers at Gozo College as part of our GauLearns programme [which is a month-long education programme for children and students from 4-18 that runs in parallel with the festival events]. And there’s also a love triangle so it’s a great story. I’m certain that everyone will enjoy it.”
Events over the Easter weekend.
The festival continues until Sunday, May 4, with the opera Nabucco and a grand finale on the final weekend. For further information visit https://gaulitanus.com/
Gaulitana: A Festival of Music is principally supported by the Investment in Cultural Organisations – Gozo of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo”
