House of opera, not Parliament (1)

Eric Parnis (The Opera House Saga, December 30) was right to speak out about the need to re-build our Opera House where it belongs. It seems the Prime Minister has been misinformed about certain aspects of the controversy.

Every European country has an Opera House of which it is proud. This is also true of the United States, Australia and South America. It was also true of our island in pre-war days when we took pride in Edward Barry's masterpiece first built in 1861.

Interest in the arts and in opera has increased world-wide and re-building the Opera House would give pleasure not only to our fellow-countrymen but also to many of the 10,000 non-Maltese residing here and to the tourists who come on holiday. A Parliament, important though it is, is not looked upon with the same pleasure; the vulgarity and even the violence which shamed us during the era of 1971-1987 is still recalled.

Is there some guarantee that these scenes will not reappear at some later stage, and be the first "welcome" to be seen and heard on entering our capital city?

The majority would much rather listen to the delectable music of Verdi, Donizetti and Puccini, than to a parliamentarian perorating on something or other. In addition, parliamentarians are already housed in a palace, and the expenditure of a further €100 million will not be cheered by the taxpaying public who are finding it increasingly difficult to make both ends meet.

Such knowledgeable people as tenor Joseph Calleja, Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott, Prof. Joe Friggieri, and former Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech are among those who favour an Opera House. There are hundreds of others.

Second thoughts, please.