MUSIC

Valletta Baroque Festival

The Valletta Baroque Festival is being held again this year from January 11 to 29, offering a quintessential experience of all that is baroque. Concerts will be held in various venues across Malta. The following performances will be held this week:

The Dettingen Te Deum and other Handelian Hits by the Valletta International Baroque Ensemble (VIBE) and KorMalta at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, on January 11 at 7.30pm;

Eloquentia, featuring Alia Mens, directed by Olivier Spilmont, at the parish church of the Annunciation, Tarxien, on January 12 at 7.30pm;

CPE Bach Sonatas featuring Johanna Rose (viola da gamba) and Javier Nunez (harpsichord) at the Refectory of the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana on January 13 at noon;

Bach on Mandolin, performed by mandolin soloist Avi Avital at the Bibliotheca, Valletta, on January 13 at 4pm;

Bach – The Four Orchestral Suites, starring Les Passions de l’Âme, directed by Meret Luthi, at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on January 13 at 8pm;

Diálogos de viejos y nuevos sones by the Accademia del Piacere at the Archaeology Museum, Valletta, on January 14 at noon;

Adagio Religioso, featuring pianist Vassilis Varvaresos, at San Anton Palace, Attard, on January 14 at 4pm;

Chorales for Violas da Gamba and Organ by the Accademia del Piacere at the Archaeology Museum in Valletta on January 14, at 8pm;

Sonate da Camera del Barocco Napoletano, performed by the Abchordis Trio at the Cathedral Museum, Mdina, on January 15 at 11am;

Biber & Piazzolla, by the Lautten Compagney Berlin at the Verdala Palace, Buskett, on January 15 at 3pm; and

The Remarkably Talented Mr Weaver Presents… performed by the Weaver Ensemble at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, at 6pm.

For more information and tickets, visit www.festivals.mt/vbf.

From Bellini to Lloyd Webber

Soprano Michaela Agius and harpist Laetitia Troisi de Menville will perform an uplifting programme of songs and arias during a concert at Our Lady of Victory church in Valletta on January 10 at 12.30pm.

The varied programme includes songs written between the 19th century and 21st century, including works by Paolo Tozzi, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Vincenzo Bellini, and Giuseppe Verdi, among others.

After the concert, patrons are invited for free to the cellar of the church to watch a short audiovisual show about the building, history and the restoration of this gem. 

The concert is organised by the Barocco Foundation in collaboration with Din l-Art Ħelwa.

Entrance is at a suggested donation of €10. One can obtain the tickets prior to the concert from the venue or by e-mailing baroccomalta@gmail.com or calling 7968 0952.

Christine Zerafa Piano Quartet Concert

The Malta Society of Arts is marking its 100th anniversary with a series of concerts, starting with a concert by the Christine Zerafa Piano Quartet on January 12.

The quartet will perform Carmelo Pace’s Conversazioni, Mariella Cassar Cordina’s new commission as part of the celebrations and other works.

The quartet features Zerafa on piano, Maria Conrad on violin, Alexandra Razera on viola and Desirée Calleja Quintano on cello.

The concert series is supported by Arts Council Malta under the Programme Support Scheme.

The concert starts at 8pm at Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta. For tickets, click here.

Sebastianus Cristianus – Oratorio

The Soċjetà Filarmonika Pinto Banda San Sebastjan A.D. 1862 is presenting the oratorio Sebastianus Christianus, written by Ray Sciberras, at the Mdina cathedral on January 13 at 7.30pm.

Performing on the night will be tenor Charles Vincenti, alto Pamela Bezzina, soprano Rosabelle Bianchi and Kor Mirbitur, led by Simone Attard.

Tickets are against a donation of €10.

Therion in concert

Symphonic heavy metal band Therion will perform their first ever show in Malta on January 13 at Aria Complex in San Ġwann. They will be supported by locally-based international metal band Pilgrimage.

Therion was founded in Sweden by Christofer Johnsson in 1987 and has since morphed its musical style more than once. Boasting 18 releases to date, the band has toured the world, including North and South America, across Europe, China, Australia and Japan.

The event starts at 8.30pm. Tickets are available from the Trackage Scheme website or at the door.

ChamberFest

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is presenting a unique celebration of exquisite chamber music, notably described as “the music of friends”, in three separate yet consecutive recitals on January 15 at the Robert Samut Hall in Floriana.

The first recital will kick off ChamberFest with an eclectic presentation of repertoire for wind instruments. MPO principal flute Rebecca Hall will open the recital series with a selection of works by François Devienne and Jacques Castérède for Four Flutes.

A horn quartet lead by MPO principal Horn Etienne Cutajar will perform Kerry Turner’s Three Movements for Four Horns and Zahra’s Six Variations for Horn Quartet, Illusions.  

The last performance will see a reed trio, featuring oboe, bassoon and clarinet, performing Georges Auric’s Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon and Mozart’s Divertimento No. 1 for oboe, clarinet and bassoon. 

For tickets, click here.

THEATRE

Lasallian Nights 2023: Charmed

De La Salle College in Vittoriosa is hosting its annual show, featuring music, dance and more between January 13 and 15.

This year’s show is titled Charmed and follows Prince Charming on his many romantic endeavours.

For tickets, visit showshappening.com.

A Little Killing Hurts No One

After a sold-out tour in Austria, international touring stand-up comedian Mustafa Algiyadi is performing his solo show in Malta.

He will be supported by local stand-up comedian and performer Malcolm Galea.

The event is taking place at The Black Pearl in Ta’ Xbiex on January 13 at 9pm. For tickets, visit showshappening.com.

LITERATURE

Kompli Pinġi b’dak l-Aħmar Rummien

Writer Immanuel Mifsud is presenting an evening of poems about the pandemic, selected from his forthcoming collection Għażiż Ġismi, at the Oratory of the Immacu­late in the Jesuits church in Valletta on January 12.

The event forms part of the Jesuits Church Foundation’s (JCF) newly launched cultural venture ‘Music and More at the Jesuits’.

Entrance is free but a donation in aid of the foundation’s cultural projects would be appreciated.

Entrance to the oratory is from Archbishop Street, next to the Jesuits church.

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FILM

MET Opera Live: Giordano’s Fedora

Spazju Kreattiv is screening live Umberto Giordano’s drama Fedora staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for the first time in 25 years. 

Packed with memorable melodies, showstopping arias, and explosive confrontations, Fedora features soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the title role of the 19th-century Russian princess who falls in love with her fiancé’s murderer, Count Loris, sung by star tenor Piotr Beczała.

The opera, conducted by Marco Armiliato, also stars soprano Rosa Feola and baritone Artur Ruciński. 

Giordano’s Fedora is showing on January 14 at 6.55pm. For tickets, click here.

Happy Chinese New Year Film Festival 2023

Spazju Kreattiv, in collaboration with the China Cultural Centre in Malta, is presenting a festival of Chinese films from January 7 to January 24.

Showing during the festival are the 2019 films The Bravest, The Climbers, Looking Up, The Wandering Earth and The Captain.

For more information and tickets, click here. 

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VISUAL ARTS

Expressions

An exhibition by Rachel Galea at Il-Ħaġar - Heart of Gozo Museum features 31 of her latest works inspired by Gozo’s landscape. 

The exhibition runs until January 10. The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free.

For more information, click here.

Sights and sites

An exhibition by Silvio John Camilleri at the King’s Own Band Club in Valletta investigates contemporary reality in which the ugliness of roads and pristine countryside have to co-exist as a dichotomy in Malta’s way of life.

Yet, the artist deciphers beauty even in the most inauspicious of locations, such as in the geometry of the road network and its juxtaposition with trees, streetlights and general urban elements.

Sights and Sites, curated by Fleur-Marie Ebejer, is on until January 11. Refer to the artist’s Facebook profile for more information.

Enlightenment

Rebecca Cassar is presenting an exhibition of her latest works at the art galleries of the Malta Society of Arts seat, Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta, until January 26.

The exhibition focuses on the use of colour, texture, and 23.5-karat gold leaf to express the artist's personal journey over the past year and a half.

The galleries are open Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. They are closed on Sundays and public holidays.  For more information about the exhibition, click here and for more information about the artist, visit rebeccacassar.com.

Lampuki Moqli

The Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana is hosting an exhibition by artist Mariam De Giorgio.

De Giorgio specialises in acrylic painting and illustration but also enjoys experimenting with ink, watercolours and mixed media. Her paintings have a distinctive personal style that allows viewers to enter a fantasy world. This is also due to the choice of palette, even when depicting real places and figures. 

Curated by Charlene Vella, the exhibition runs until the end of the month.

Harmony in Motion

Joseph Casapinta’s lastest exhibition features watercolour-based works created both in his studio and during en plein air sessions. 

The title Harmony in Motion harks back to Casapinta's Dancing Brushes exhibition of 2008, which was about the harmonious ‘dancing’ movements of his brushwork that helped him develop a different style and technique while showing his love for our country’s past and present, through landscapes and urban scenes.

Harmony in Motion, hosted by Gemelli Art Gallery, Ta’ Qali Crafts Village, is open from January 14 to 31. Consult the artist’s Facebook page for more information.

A Date with MeliTension

Local artist Ramon Azzopardi Fiott is showcasing 10 digital paintings depicting fantastical creatures inspired by icons of Maltese identity, set against local backdrops.

He is also debuting MINItension, a series of limited-edition fine art prints that are smaller, have a larger print run and a more modest price tag than the standard edition.

The works are being showcased at the DATE Art Café, Cospicua, until January 27.

Read an interview with the artist here.

Amygdala

Blitz is hosting an exhibition by Kim Sammut and curated by Sara Dolfi Agostini from January 12 to February 9.

Sammut is the recipient of Blitz Valletta's competitive open call for a Malta-based emerging artist launched in 2022. As the chosen artist, she was granted the opportunity to present a new project produced and exhibited by Blitz.

This initiative is intended to give the successful applicant a curated platform to express themselves, an occasion to work one-to-one with an international curator on a new commission and improve their professional skills while promoting their artistic practice, while Blitz acts as a host institution, a mentor and partner.

The exhibition, supported by Arts Council Malta, is open at Blitz, 68, St Lucia Street, Valletta, from Wednesday to Friday from 2 to 5pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. It is closed from Sunday to Tuesday.

For more information, visit the gallery's Facebook page or https://blitzvalletta.com/.

Experiments in Entropy

The second law of thermodynamics states that as energy is transformed, it incrementally dissipates and tends towards loss, decay and waste. This is the process of entropy; a process of mutual construction and demolition. It applies to societies and to systems, as it does to the natural environment, and has generated curiosity since its peak in art production in the 1960s.

Ten architects, who collectively started architecture school a decade ago, have been asked to investigate trajectories of this narrative in their daily grind and the result is on show at the Valletta Contemporary from January 11 to February 18. It is curated by Andrew Borg Wirth.

The gallery in East Street, Valletta, is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 2 to 7pm. It is closed betwen Sundays and Tuesdays. Look up the Valletta Contemporary Facebook page for more information.

Anthological Art Exhibition

Artist Mario Zammit-Lewis is showing his latest works at the parliament building in Valletta from January 15.

The exhibition retrospectively explores the various aspects of the artist’s oeuvre that is stylistically and thematically very eclectic. A monograph, published to accompany the exhibition, will be launched during the inauguration and will be available for purchase at the venue.

Zammit Lewis, born to a Maltese father and an Italian mother, has exhibited extensively abroad. He is the recipient of a number of international awards that have celebrated his accomplishments along the years.

Anthological Art Exhibition runs until February 28. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am till noon.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Honor Frost’s Malta: A Pioneer in the Centre of the Mediterranean

An exhibition highlighting underwater archaeologist Honor Frost’s connection to Malta is open at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

Besides honouring Frost’s considerable legacy, the exhibition aims to offer a snapshot of Frost’s work in Malta through illustrations, artefacts and even some of her diving equipment.

The exhibition runs until January 15. Entrance is free of charge. One may visit the museum daily from 9am to 4.30pm.

She Said Darling with a 'K': Reimagining Katya Saunders

Spazju Kreattiv is dedicating an exhibition to the life of Katya Saunders, three years after her death.

The exhibition, which features a catalogue of photos, clothes and memorabilia, highlights the different facets of one of the first transgender women who broke boundaries in terms of sexual diversity and inclusion in Malta.

Curated by Charlie Cauchi and Romeo Roxman Gatt, the exhibition is also complemented by the launch of Saunders's official biography, penned by Ramona Depares, Kayta: Easy on the Tonic, which will take place on January 6.

The exhibition runs until January 22. Spazju Kreattiv is open from Tuesday to Sunday.

Unseen and Unheard: Stories of Women Under Fire

The Storm Petrel Foundation is presenting an archival exhibition that sheds light on overlooked or previously unrecorded war narratives and microhistories from Malta and elsewhere.

It brings together items and artefacts drawn from different collections, with a primary focus on wartime experiences of women and girls.

The exhibition was inspired by a series of conversations between the NGO and Robert Attard, who had found a collection of letters written by a young German woman during World War II, some of which are on display.

The exhibition is organised across five different rooms at the Storm Petrel Foundation’s premises in Attard, with each room representing a different era or focus.

The Storm Petrel Foundation has collaborated with Simon Cusens, Kim Dalli, Sharp Shoot Media, Media Coop, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, Sarah Chircop and Giuliana Fenech, Heritage Malta, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and Palazzo Falson.

The exhibition runs until April 14. Opening hours: Wednesdays to Fridays from 5.30 to 8pm and the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 12.30pm. For more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page.