The Voice Department within the MAVC Malta School of Music launched its Opera Studio on Monday, February 14, with a concert at Robert Samut Hall, which was received with great public and critical acclaim.

The head of school Maria Blanco introduced the concert as “the start of a very exciting journey for our school and the development of operatic studies in Malta”. The Malta School of Music has long felt the need to offer a platform for advanced singers to explore and gain experience in opera and stage performance.

The aim of the SoM Opera Studio is to offer advanced singers the opportunity to explore different stage crafts and work with professional singers, conductors and stage directors, equipping them with the right tools to be all-round performers on stage. 

During the concert, the Opera Studio singers presented a colourfully varied and well-prepared selection of famous ensemble scenes from well-loved operas by Mozart, Bizet, Verdi and Puccini, among others. The repertoire and preparation of the students were the result of remarkable work by the team of vocal tutors at the Malta School of Music, Miriam Cauchi, Andriana Yordnova, Graziella Debattista and Luis Aguilar, with the help of Mro Riccardo Bianchi.

Performers during the launch.

The leader of the Voice Department, Miriam Cauchi, said that “the choice of repertoire is tailor-made and adapted according to the chosen singers. Our aim is to nurture their voices through healthy repertoire which would in turn help the voices develop in the right direction.”

Participating students, whose vocal abilities range from the mid-teens to more mature voices, have taken to their social media to express their satisfaction and gratitude for the launch of this project, which promises to open many new horizons for them. The Malta School of Music will be seeking to further collaborations with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, who supported this concert, and other cultural entities to continue offering new opportunities on a national scale.

The SoM Opera Studio has now opened a call for new applications for sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, tenors, baritones and basses. Auditions will be held in the first week of March 2022. For applications and further information, write to mavc.schoolofmusic@ilearn.edu.mt.