Opera House phantom succumbs to election fever

The phantom of the Royal Opera House will be postponing its haunting appearance at the Valletta site - because of election fever.

The magical event originally scheduled for tonight - when lights, laser beams and mist were to project a three-dimensional, life size image of the Opera House on site - had to be postponed because the equipment required for the event has been taken up for the mass meetings of the two major political parties, explained Jean Paul Mifsud, chairman of YMCA Homeless that is organising the event with the help of several other volunteers.

Nexos Technology, a partner in the event, advised the organisers to postpone the show because the lighting equipment it planned to provide was used for the electoral campaign.

The event had been scheduled to take place today because of the haunting nature of the day that only appears in our calendars every four years. But, Mr Mifsud said, it has been postponed to an equally significant date which cannot be revealed yet.

What is sure is that the event will be worth viewing because, put in Mr Mifsud's words, "the idea is to create magic... a time machine that allows people present to experience the phantom of the opera".

In fact, since an article appeared in The Sunday Times announcing the event earlier this month, several people contacted YMCA Homeless to enquire about it.

"The event generated a lot of interest... We even had requests from tourist companies wanting to bring guests from their hotels," Mr Mifsud said.

The grand Opera House was constructed in 1866 and bombed in 1942, never to be rebuilt despite repetitive calls over the decades for a new structure to be erected, whether or not in the likeness of the original.

On the night of the event, aptly named The Phantom of the Opera, the image of the Opera House will be accompanied by music and will remain visible for about 10 minutes. Freedom Square will be transformed into a city museum where images of the capital across the eras will be projected and there will be entertainment throughout the evening.

Mr Mifsud said this is part of an even bigger project - the YMCA Old Valletta Project - through which three-dimensional detailed models of Valletta across the centuries will be developed and made available to the public through an interactive website and DVD.

All the money collected through the project will go in aid of the YMCA Homeless Shelter Dar Niki Cassar.

Anyone who wishes to be part of this magical experience as a sponsor or be involved in The Phantom of the Opera project or who has material to contribute to the website can send an e-mail to info@ymcahomeless.org or call YMCA on 2122 8035.