MUSIC
Notte Italiana with Pupo
The Malta Concert Orchestra is presenting its yearly event dedicated to Italian music at Pjazza Teatru Rjal in Valletta on August 10 and 11.
Special guest for this concert is Italian singer Enzo Ghinazzi, better known as Pupo, who will be interpreting some of his most popular songs such as Forse, Un amore grande, Sara perche ti amo, Gelato al cioccolato and Su di noi.
The orchestra will be under the direction of Joe Brown.
The concert starts at 8.30pm. Tickets have been sold out.
Go Gianni Go!
The legendary Italian singer and songwriter Gianni Morandi is returning to Malta as part of his Summer 2023 tour. He will be performing at Fort Manoel on August 12 at 8.30pm.
Morandi is known for such classic hits as C’era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e I Rolling Stones, Fatti mandare dalla mamma and In ginocchio da te.
Tickets are available from ticketline.com.mt.
The Last Dance – Vittoriosa in Festa
In the run-up to the feast of St Lawrence, the St Lawrence Band Club is presenting a concert at Vittoriosa Main Square on August 7 at 9pm.
Directed by Jonathan Abela, the band will be accompanied by various singers and the them will be 'The Last Dance'.
For more information, click here.
U2 by u2uk
Għaxaq Music Festival is hosting u2uk, UK’s premier tribute show to the Irish rock band U2, at Għaxaq square on August 8 at 8.30pm.
Entrance is free.
Tribute act u2uk performing at a recent concert. Photo: FacebookAcoustics for Puttinu
The Għaqda Mużikali Marija Bambina Banda Vittorja, Naxxar, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its youth committee with a fundraising concert in aid of Puttinu Cares on August 8.
Red Electric will be headlining the event, while Petra and Lulu will be the warm-up acts.
The event, held in collaboration with the Naxxar local council, is taking place in Naxxar square from 8.30pm onwards. For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.
Red Electric are the event's headliners. Photo: Facebook/Red ElectricLeone Band in concert − Festa edition
The Leone Band marks the annual festivities of Santa Marija with a number of musical events, the first of which is the annual symphonic concert taking place in Republic Street, Victoria, on August 9.
This year the concert is commemorating the 160th anniversary of the band's foundation (1863).
The programme includes a mix of classic and contemporary symphonic music, both sacred and profane, complemented by a fireworks display.
The event is free but reservations are recommended on www.teatruaurora.com.
Rocco Hunt live in Malta
The Dance Island is presenting Italian rapper and singer Rocco Hunt live at Uno in Ta’ Qali on August 9.
A former Sanremo Festival contestant, Hunt has released a number of hits and collaborations with other artists, including Fedez, Elettra Lamborghini, Boomdabash and Ana Mena, throughout the years.
Doors open at 10.30pm. Tickets are available here.
Rocco Hunt. Photo: Shutterstock.comSanta Maria Accordion Band in concert
The Santa Maria Accordion Band, directed by Marthese Busuttil Cassar, will be performing in a concert together with the St Joseph Band of Ħamrun on August 10 as part of the St Cajetan feast activities.
The accordian band will perform three pieces: the Vangelis song Conquest of Paradise, the popular Maltese anthem Inxerdu il-ferħ by G. Muscat Azzopardi and the Innu March ta’ San Gejtanu by Willie Attard.
The concert starts at 8pm.
Adele − The Journey So Far
Island International Touring, in association with 4Theatre, is presenting a tribute show to popular British singer Adele at the Hilton Malta in St Julian’s on August 12 at 8pm.
The show stars singer Stacey Lee, who will be performing Adele’s greatest hits, including Someone Like You, Hello and Rollin in the Deep.
For more information, click here.
Stacey Lee as Adele. Photo: FacebookXlendi Sunset Festival
The fifth edition of the Xlendi Sunset Festival is taking place along the Xlendi promenade on August 13 from 7.30pm onwards.
Fakawi and Ira Losco and her band will be performing together with a number of other artists that are being announced in the coming days.
The family event, which will also feature food and drink and plenty of lights, is being held in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Directorate, Ministry for Gozo and the Munxar local council.
Entrance is free. For more information and updates, visit the event's Facebook page.
Ira Losco, seen here at this year's Farsons Beer Festival, will be performing in Xlendi on August 13. Photo: Albert CamilleriTHEATRE
Xi traġedja!
A tragi-comedy inspired by the old Greek tragedies but featuring current social issues is being held at Café Riche in Vittoriosa from August 11 to 13.
The play, suitable for an audience aged over 12, is written by Jacob Piccinino and directed by Lee-N Abela.
The cast is made up of Abela, Jacob Piccinino, Miguel Formosa and Brandon Terribile.
Tickets are available from showshappening.com.
A promotional photo for Xi traġedja!. Photo: FacebookFILM
Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration
KRS Releasing Ltd, in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company and in partnership with all local cinemas, is celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary with a programme of films this summer.
These include classic, ground-breaking Disney films selected from almost every decade of the centenary such as the original animated versions of Bambi, Peter Pan and The Jungle Book.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is showing until August 10. It will then be the turn of Bambi on August 18.
For more information, visit the KRS Releasing Facebook page.
The event's posterReinventing Elvis: The ’68 comeback
Spazju Kreattiv is screening a new documentary about Elvis Presley, which focuses on his career in 1968, when he was apparently losing his appeal.
His notorious manager, Col. Tom Parker, wanted to restore Elvis’s popularity through a network TV Christmas special, replete with sweaters and Santa. To direct the special, Parker and Elvis both approved of NBC’s choice, the brash, young, socially conscious rebel director Steve Binder.
But Binder had a completely different vision for the Special, one that Elvis enthusiastically embraced − much to Parker’s dismay.
The documentary, directed by John Scheinfeld, is being shown on August 11 at 8.30pm. For tickets and more information, visit kreattivita.org.
A still from the documentary. Photo: FacebookMISCELLANEOUS
81st anniversary of Operation Pedestal
The Royal British Legion Malta GC Branch is holding a service to commemorate the 81st anniversary of Operation Pedestal, otherwise locally known as the Santa Marija Convoy, on August 9 at 7pm.
The event, taking place at Pinto Wharf (cruise liner terminal) in Valletta, is being held under the patronage of President George Vella and a number of dignitaries of the diplomatic corps.
The World War II Living History Group will be in attendance.
A limited number of seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests are to be seated by 6.45pm. For more information, e-mail rblmalta@gmail.com.
The SS Ohio limping into Grand Harbour in 1942, in a painting by Edwin Galea. Painting courtesy of the artist's son, Edwin Galea Jr.La Notte di San Lorenzo
The Għaqda Piroteknika 10 ta' Awissu of Vittoriosa is holding its annual fireworks spectacle, known as La Notte di San Lorenzo on the eve of the feast of St Lawrence on August 9 from 10pm onwards. There will be traditional Maltese fireworks and pyro-musical displays.
On the feast day, August 10, there will be daylight fireworks at 7.15pm.
The best viewing point is on the bastions, next to the Birgu Boċċi Club.
Fireworks during a previous edition of La Notte di San Lorenzo. Photo: FacebookEvening Under the Stars
Villa Bighi in Kalkara is opening its doors to the public in the evening on August 9, where patrons can enjoy the pyro-musical show celebrating La Notte di San Lorenzo,
Doors open at 8.30pm and the event will include a BBQ station and an open bar, with entertainment from local band Xarulù.
This event is being organised in aid of the Puttinu Cares Foundation.
Xarulù will be performing during the evening. Photo: Images by Nina AdamsDelicata Wine Festival
The 20th edition of Delicata’s annual wine extravaganza will be held for the 20th time at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta on August 11, 12 and 13, from 7pm till midnight.
With over 20 wines to sample, wine remains the star of the show but there will also be a double bill of top local talent entertaining the stage on each night.
Kersten Graham and Band, followed by Kurt Calleja and Band, will perform on August 11. On August 12, Jolene Samhan will open for Gianni & RUG, while Cash and Band and the Spiteri Lucas Band will close the festival on August 13.
There will also be live cooking stalls serving a variety of both Maltese and international dishes.
Attendance is free but one can sample wine for a fee of €20, which entitles them to a wine purse of 24 wine coins and a souvenir glass to take home.
For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Photo: DelicataIt's All About Bones
Heritage Malta is hosting an event for children aged 9+ at St Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat on August 11 at 2pm.
An osteologist, a bone expert, will guide a tour, imparting information on the human skeleton and making comparisons between animal and human bones.
The activity is in English. Tickets may be purchased from all Heritage Malta museums and sites, and at https://heritagemalta.mt/store/e1279/.
St Paul's Catacombs. Photo: Heritage MaltaPerseids on a Midsummer Night
The Astronomical Society of Malta is hosting its annual public observation events to enjoy the Perseids meteor show on August 12 in Gozo and on August 13 in Malta.
The Gozo event will take place at Dwejra Bay from 9pm onwards, while the Malta edition will be held at Miġra l-Ferħa, limits of Rabat, from 8pm onwards.
For more information, visit the Facebook page of the Astronomical Society of Malta.
To register for the Gozo event, click here.
Photo: Shutterstock.comVISUAL ARTS
Seedlings
An exhibition of works by artists Robert Zahra, Jesmond Vassallo and Gilbert Calleja, under the curatorship of Caldon Mercieca, is taking place at the Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts (MSA) in Valletta until August 10.
The artists explore creative production as a process through which the individual can reflect on lived experience. They push their individual practices to experiment with and repropose mundane experiences through a selection of works in various media.
Bold, speculative, and multi-layered, the works presented engage with image-making techniques and materials to bring attention to the multisensory qualities of experience and how the sensual (in)forms perception, memory and understanding of the world.
For more information, visit artsmalta.org.
Shrine: Finding Solace in the Chaos of Life
Baptism of Venus by Alexandra AquilinaAlexandra Aquilina's debut solo exhibition runs at MUŻA in Valletta until August 13.
The screen printer and multimedia artist based between Malta and Berlin tackles grandiose themes of life, spirituality and mortality with teenage arrogance and child-like wonderment, resulting in art that is both raw and intimate, disjointed and coherent at the same time.
Her work invites the viewers to reflect on the duality of nature, humanity and spirituality, universal concepts which are deeply rooted and explored from within the complex island microcosm.
The exhibition is curated by Lisa Gwen.
Read more about the artist and the exhibition on X2, a new website by Times of Malta.
Wabi Sabi
Il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba is hosting an exhibition by Sasha Vella titled Wabi Sabi until August 15.
Related to landscapes, objects, and even human beings, the notion of 'Wabi Sabi' can be understood as an appreciation of beauty that is doomed to disappear, or even as an ephemeral contemplation of something that arguably becomes more beautiful as it ages, fades, and acquires a new essence. Vella embraces this philosophy through her photographic work.
In her non-conventional process-based approach, Sasha typically seeks to document natural elements that bear witness to the passage of time through erosion, decay and change. This includes mountains, rocks and humans, dealing with matter that relates to the threat of ceasing to exist.
This debut solo exhibition features a selection of photographic work from the past four years, with some photographs shot on film that expired over 40 years ago.
For opening hours, visit the gallery's Facebook page.
Read more about the exhibition in this Times of Malta review.
Green City: From Floriana to Mdina
A collection of recent paintings by Danish artist, sculptor and architect Rune Bo Jakobsen is gracing the Palm Court Lounge at The Phoenicia Malta throughout the month of August.
Green City: From Floriana to Mdina features a collection of land and streetscapes with the aim to draw attention to the available greenery of the Maltese islands..
In a subliminal way, the exhibition conveys an important urgent message: 'We can choose to make Malta green’, Jakobsen says.
Also significant to this exhibition is a 2.8-metre-high sculpture titled Green Heart which is exhibited in the gardens of hotels.
Green City: from Floriana to Mdina is open until August 30.
One of Rune Bo Jakobsen's works on display at The Phoenicia.Francesco Zahra (1710-1773) 250th Death Anniversary
Il-Ħaġar Museum in Victoria is commemorating the death of Francesco Zahra, generally considered to have been the greatest painter in Malta during the 18th century, in a landmark exhibition until September 3.
No fewer than 62 works by Zahra are on display. The exhibition also includes works by Buhagiar’s father and brother, his artistic rival Enrico Regnaud and the Rome-trained French artist Antoine Favray, who arrived in Malta in the 1740s.
The exhibition, curated by Keith Sciberras, forms part of the 26th Victoria International Arts Festival, an event co-sponsored by the museum, which came to an end on July 10.
The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free. For more information, visit the museum's Facebook page.
Read more about the exhibition in this Times of Malta review.
Guardian Angel by Francesco ZahraContext
A new exhibition is bringing together four Maltese artists, Ryan Falzon, Madeleine Gera, Anna Grima and Paul Scerri at Bureau Iniala in Valletta.
This collective exhibition is a cohesion of four artistic languages; the artists were not limited thematically in an intentional curatorial decision. The term 'context' gives purpose and order through a standardisation of parameters that are supposed to have withstood the test of time.
In a context of togetherness, these four artists are exploring a poetic recontextualisation of sorts, in a warlike post-pandemic world that is thirsty for an aesthetic recalibration.
Context is a Times Events and Bureau Iniala collaboration, hosted at 37, Old Treasury Street, Valletta. It is open until September 5.
Lightness of Being by Anna GrimaXara Art Collection 2023
A collective art exhibition is being held to raise funds for Id-Dar tal-Providenza.
The exhibition was launched during an annual charity dinner taking place at the Xara Lodge, l/o Rabat, on July 26, but it is now on display at the atrium of The Xara Palace in Mdina for four weeks.
The nine participating artists, Andrew Borg, Paul Camilleri, Mary de Piro, Rachel Galea, Carmel Grixti, Lawrence Pavia, Wibke Seifert, Sophie Stilon and Kenneth Zammit Tabona, will donate 20 to 50 per cent of the sale of proceeds of their art to the Siġġiewi home.
The event is held under the distinguished patronage of Mgr Joe Galea Curmi, Auxillary Bishop of Malta, and Fr Martin Micallef, the director of Dar tal-Providenza.
Soap to Think With
Norbert Francis Attard is holding a solo exhibition at Gozo Contemporary at 11, Triq Mongur, Għarb.
Curated by Ann Dingli, the exhibition features works made out of soap and soap boxes besides other materials to highlight links between massive events in national history that we might otherwise have not made.
A catalogue featuring critical essays by Paul Sant Cassia, Ann Dingli and Nikki Petroni and a prologue by Gabriel Zammit accompanies the exhibition, which is dedicated to Marisa Vella (1960-2020).
Soap to Think With can be viewed by appointment by calling on +356 7904 1051 or sending an e-mail to norbert@norbertattard.com.
Read more about the exhibition in this Times of Malta interview with the artist and curator.
An installation view of Soap to Think With. Photo: Valletta ContemporaryThe Wind Blows… Waves in All Directions
Spazju Kreattiv is hosting an exhibition as part of the EuroPride 2023 programme.
Using Maltese and Tunisian contexts as parallel bases for this exhibition, artists and activists from 11 Mediterranean countries reflect on the past, present and future, as well as their community and their own identities with running themes of resistance through activism, gender expression, sexual liberation and self exploration throughout the exhibitions.
The exhibition, which opens on August 11 and runs until October 29, is co-curated by Bobb Attard & Mohamed Ali Agrebi. For more information, click here.
OTHER EXHIBITIONS
Ancient Tea With New Glamour
The China Cultural Centre in Malta is hosting a new exhibition under the theme of 'Tea for Harmony', co-organised with the Xi’an Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Featuring intriguing displays, artefacts, paintings and photographs from the city of Xi’an, this new exhibition opens a window into the enduring significance of tea in Chinese culture.
A Tang-style gilded tea set made of bronze gold and silver is the main attraction. Other exhibits include a batch of royal teaware items that were unearthed in 1987 at the ancient Buddhist Famen Temple in northwest Shaanxi and a modern reprinted thread-bound edition of The Classic of Tea, considered to be the first known monograph on tea in the world, written by Lu Yu between 760 CE and 762 CE, during the Tang Dynasty.
One may visit the exhibition, which will remain open until the end of this year at the China Cultural Centre, 173, Melita Street, Valletta. The centre is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to noon, and from 1.30 to 4pm. Entrance is free. Reservation is advised for group visits at events2023ccc@gmail.com.
whatson@timesofmalta.com