This article is not about the present ongoing debate about whether the old theatre and cinema at Palazzo Carafa, in Valletta should be dismantled or not. However, it is useful to describe how the theatre and cinema came into being in 1912 and how they progressed during the two years they were used by their founder.
On May 8, 1910, Gozitan Jesuit priest Fr Michael Vella founded the Unione Cattolica San Giuseppe (UCSG) all’oggetto di formare parte della pia istituzione dell’Apostolato della Preghiera (to form part of the pious institution of the Apostleship of Prayer). Meetings were held regularly but the UCSG did not have premises of its own. On October 22, 1911, the central committee of the UCSG agreed with a proposal for the creazione di un Casino Popolare (the creation of a popular club).
The result was the renting of Palazzo Carafa, which became the centre of the UCSG’s many activities after it was officially opened on May 16, 1912. Among the activities of the UCSG were theatre presentations and a cinema, naturally after the necessary modifications had been carried out on the premises.
The theatre hall
This hall, the teatrino, seems to have been the casino’s facility that attracted the most attention. The UCSG received a number of requests to present a variety of programmes, sometimes for philanthropic purposes.
Gozitan Jesuit priest Fr Michael Vella (1859-1911), who founded the Unione Cattolica San Giuseppe in 1910.A certain Mrs Grech requested the use of the hall to stage a concert in aid of the Suore Terziarie Maltesi (or rather, Francescane) at Corfù – permission was granted on June 19 – and this prompted the committee to decide that the use of the hall would be free of charge for concerts a scopo di beneficenza (for charitable causes) except for the costs involved. It was also decided that the entry payment for theatricals would be 1d. for members and 3d. for non-members. The proposed concert was actually held.
The company L’Avvenire Infantile proposed the presentation of a theatrical programme every Sunday to help the UCSG acquire funds. A macchiettista, Carmelo de Sani, was forwarded to Mgr Paolo Galea (director of the teatrino) by baritone Mro Ġużè Duca for his appraisal. Mgr Galea was also requested to form two società filodrammatiche (philo-dramatic societies) from the members of the casino. The Filodrammatica Indipendenza also applied to present shows at the club’s teatrino.
Mgr Paolo Galea (1866-1952), the director of the UCSG’s theatre, who became the factotum of the Unione. He was one of the very first members of the UCSG.A letter by a certain Oreste Cumbo of Valletta on May 22, 1912 reveals that women were not allowed to act on the stage of the UCSG’s theatre. Cumbo wrote that he was a well-known stage female impersonator and singer with his own personal wardrobe for different types of plays. He, therefore, invited the UCSG to contact him if his services were needed since he was “molto conosciuto per dette rappresentazioni” (well-known for said representations). Cumbo’s letter did not create a favourable impression since it does not seem to have ever been answered. However, for some unexplained reason, on April 9, 1913, Cumbo was given £1 from the APS funds.
On October 23, 1913, it was again emphasised that actresses were not allowed on the UCSG’s stage. On November 12, the Filodrammatica Unione of Rabat had also been informed on the ban of actresses and that the parts of female protagonists were to be recited by men, a quite common and accepted practice at premises belonging to religious entities in those days.
Detail of the monument of Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi at his native Qormi. He was one of the very first members of the UCSG and played a valid part in the acquisition of Palazzo Carafa and the running of its theatre.It seems – judging from a letter sent on June 7, 1912 to UCSG member John Apap by the impresario of the Teatro Reale of Valletta, C. de Lancellotti – that a piano had been loaned for a month to Palazzo Carafa in mid-May, presumably to be used at the inauguration ceremony. The impresario enquired whether the UCSG had decided to buy it or not, especially since he had received another offer for it, though he preferred to see the piano at Palazzo Carafa and was ready to consider any reasonable offer for it.
The logo of the Unione Cattolica San GiuseppeOn June 12, Apap was authorised to negotiate with Lancellotti on the price of the piano. Lancellotti’s price for the piano was £30 but the treasurer was authorised by the committee not to spend more than £18.
To improve the hall’s stage, the committee voted the sum of £3, 12s. to be spent on the acquisition of painted scenery.
The well-known composer Mro Luigi Vella proposed a musical concert to be held at the premises of the UCSG, so members Mgr Paolo Galea and Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi were drafted in to negotiate with him on his proposal.
Part two of the article will be published next week.