Three Palaces Festival returns with an enriching programme

The Three Palaces Festival, organised by Festivals Malta, returns with a three-day programme for a spring edition between April 11-13, characterised by an extensive repertoire, historic indoor and outdoor venues and an eclectic line-up of local and international artists.

This year’s spring edition pays homage to the tradition and pageantry related to Holy Week in Malta, with the poignancy and reflection of this period within the liturgical year.

“While at the core the festival still celebrates classical as well as early music, the aim is to elevate as well as reinterpret classical renditions in a multi-faceted way,” say the organisers. 

The first evening features Moveo Dance Company.

For the opening night, audiences can experience a dance performance titled Pietà.

Set to music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s (1710-1736) very own famous composition of Stabat Mater, Moveo Dance Company brings to life the shifting landscapes of grief, loss and love through the movement of four performers, each navigating their own path while converging in moments of shared pain and resilience.

For the second evening, concertgoers are invited to experience the splendour of St John’s Co-Cathedral in a way they have never done before. Commissioned by The Three Palaces Festival, the evening will present a “promenade” quasi-installation type performance titled Seven Last Words.

This year’s edition pays homage to the tradition and pageantry related to Holy Week in Malta

The music will include excerpts from Haydn’s Seven Last Words, Mozart’s Requiem, Gounod’s Les Sept Paroles de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ Sur La Crois, Verdi’s Requiem and more, angled around the most harrowing yet poignant time in the Christian Liturgy through the music and art that has been created over centuries to reflect this.

For two days on the weekend of April 12-13, spectators and passersby will have the opportunity to partake in a feast of medieval inspired performances of flag-throwers and trumpeters staged by Gruppo Sbandieratori e Tamburini di Montepulciano, as well as I grandi trombettieri di Montepulcianio (Italy) titled Briju.

Gruppo Sbandieratori e Tamburini di Montepulciano

This parade will occur in the streets of Malta’s old and new capitals, Mdina and Valletta.

Thus, audiences will be experiencing these performances in the grandeur of some of Malta’s finest architecture as well as outdoor venues, and indulge in forms of artistic expression that reflect the identity of the nation and beyond.

To find out more, visit festivals.mt/ttp for more information about this year’s spring programme and to buy tickets. The Three Palaces Festival is organised by Festivals Malta, sponsored by GSD Ltd, and supported by the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government.