The German connection

The producers of Elisabeth; Or To Be A Mann, an operatic work with lyrics by Peter Serracino Inglott and music by Charles Camilleri, have explained the use of the Nazi flag in the production.

Agreeing that wherever displayed, the Nazi flag attracts attention, they ask why should it therefore appear as the focus for the gaze of a line-up of famous people including the likes of Arvid Pardo, a former Ambassador of Malta to the United Nations, and Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize winner for literature.

"An extremely relevant, political and cultural message for Malta comes from the Mann family. Today Malta has to keep affirming its national identity while recognising that it has to be part of the processes of Europeanisation and globalisation. Both Thomas and Elisabeth Mann embodied what appeared to be a paradox in the eyes of many music lovers, particularly if like the Manns they had Jewish connections," they said.

They added that the Manns admired Richard Wagner as a composer, and in particular because of the specifically German sound of his music, even after he expressed anti-semitic views and the Nazis expelled the Manns from Germany. The Manns were able to distinguish the beauty of what was specifically German from the excesses of all claims to racial superiority. "The distinguishing features of any nation appear at their best when seen as a contribution to the complex harmony of the universe."

One of the most attractive features of Mro Camilleri's music for the opera, they explained, is the manner in which he captures the specifically German sound in the first part and continues with the characteristic Mediterranean sound at the appearance of Dr Pardo and concludes with the unique Camilleri sound evocative of cosmic peace in the finale "which must be one of the finest and most ear-pleasing music he has ever composed".

Elisabeth will be presented at the Valletta Waterfront today.