I am certain that I would be echoing many voices in heartily thanking Joseph Calleja for the lovely concert he gave on Monday at the Luxol Grounds. His powerful, warm voice was, as ever, breathtakingly beautiful.

His belief in Maltese talent, which has led to the setting up of a foundation for young artists, is worthy of high praise. Thanks to his generous commitment, we were able to enjoy a number of young upcoming singers.

Anastacia’s performance was amazing. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, under the very able direction of Steven Mercurio and led by the gifted Carmine Lauri, gave a wonderful performance. Gillian Zammit, assisted by Maria Blanco, directed an excellent children’s choir that was truly heart-warming to watch.

However, I think that the organisers of the show deserve criticism on various counts.

The stage was so low that most in the audience could not see well or not see at all. The performers had to go down one step to perform, which placed them at an even lower level.

The front screen to the audience’s left of the stage was also too low and placing scaffolding in front of it was certainly no help for those who could only watch the show through that screen.

Placing a paying audience behind scaffolding set up for TV cameras is, to my mind, robbing people of their money.

After the concert, there should have been people ready to shift the barriers in order to ensure that the mass of people who were leaving the grounds could do so safely.

The noisy drone passing continually over the public, especially in the first half of the performance, and breaking the harmony and the pianissimo effects was particularly irritating.

There were quite a few problems with sound and microphones during certain numbers.

Given that, understandably, prices are not cheap, the least the organisers can do is ensure quality and professionalism.

I hope that these factors will be taken into consideration, in order to avoid unprofessional flaws in the presence of highly professional performers.