The Three Palaces Festival, organised by Festivals Malta, is back with a rich and eclectic programme, inviting audiences to experience artistic dialogue within Malta’s most historic buildings.
Running from today to Sunday, November 2, this year’s theme of “conversations” and interconnectedness will be explored across disciplines, including music, dance, visual art, film and installation.
The festival opens this evening with a haunting cinematic experience: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the silent German expressionist classic, will be brought to life through live improvisation by guitarist and composer Glen Montanaro.
Tomorrow, October 28, the Gran Salon at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta hosts Melomania, a unique “danced concert” created by dancer/choreographer Stéphanie Brochard and baroque violinist Bojan Čičić. The performance spans centuries, culminating in Sally Beamish’s Intrada e Fuga and Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor.
Wednesday, October 29 sees the opening of Chiaroscuro, a visual arts exhibition at the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta. Curated as a conversation between light and shadow, it includes work by international artists like James Gemmill and rising Maltese talent. A dramatic opening night and artist conversations will accompany the launch. The exhibition will be open to the public until 9th November.
On Thursday, October 30, a sensory experience awaits at Valletta Campus Theatre with TAĦDIT, a black-box sound installation featuring flautist Kathryn Williams and a surround-sound choral landscape.
A major highlight will happen on Friday, October 31, at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, when the Amadeus Chamber Choir will for the first time perform Mozart’s Requiem partially in Maltese, alongside newly commissioned works.
The evening of Saturday, November 1, will shift the focus to the Verdala Palace, in Siġġiewi, for a baroque evening led by members of ViBE (Valletta Baroque Ensemble) featuring Bach’s Brandenburg.
On Sunday, November 2, the programme begins in the morning at the Malta Society of Arts, in Valletta, with Goyescas, a live painting by Maryleen Schiltkamp and and a piano recital by Maureen Galea.
The festival concludes in the evening at the same venue with Quattro Mani: A Clown called Petrouchka, as pianists Gabi Sultana and Joanne Camilleri deliver a four-hand recital featuring works by Stravinsky, Ravel, Gershwin and Kulenty.
Throughout the weekend, the festival will also hit the road with Fuq tal-linja ma’..!, a series of roaming performances and conversations aboard vintage Maltese buses.
For more information and programme details, visit festivals.mt/ttp. The Three Palaces Festival is organised by Festivals Malta and is supported by the Ministry for Culture, Lands and Local Government. The festivals is sponsored by Schweppes and BNF Bank plc.
Read this interview with the festival’s artistic director, Michelle Castelletti, here.