MUSIC
An Epiphany Recital
Friends of the Manoel, in collaboration with the Opera Nova Project, are organising an Epiphany concert at St Augustine church, Valletta, on January 6, at 6pm.
Soprano Gabrielle Portelli and tenor Stanley Joe Portelli will be accompanied by Maria Elena Farrugia.
The concert, which will be closing the Christmas season at St Augustine church, will be followed by drinks within the walls of its historic monastery.
Tickets may be reserved by getting in touch with the Friends of the Manoel via their Facebook page. Donations of €10 are welcome, which will go towards future educational and restoration endeavours.
Joy to the World: A New Year’s Musical Journey
Barocco Foundation, in collaboration with Din l-Art Ħelwa, is presenting the first lunchtime concert of the year on January 7 at Our Lady of Victory church, Valletta.
Soprano Mardy Farrugia, accompanied by pianist Elaine Mercieca, will perform a blend of sacred music, operatic arias and romantic numbers.
These include Vivaldi’s Domine Deus, Bellini’s Almen se non poss’io and Fauré’s Nell, Autumn Evening by Quilter, Barber’s Sure on this Shining Night, as well as Allerseelen by R. Strauss. Additionally, Mercieca will perform Concert in D minor, BWV 947:II. Adagio, a work by Bach.
The recital will conclude with a trio of beloved arias, Vedrai, carino by Mozart, Donizetti’s Convien partir and O mio babbino caro by Puccini.Joy to the World will start at 12.30pm.
Entrance is at a suggested donation of €10. One can obtain the tickets prior to the concert from the venue itself or by e-mailing baroccobookings@ gmail.com/baroccomalta@gmail.com or calling on 7968 0952.
TOI TOI Singalong Seniors
A community singing project organised by TOI TOI, the Manoel Theatre’s learning programme, is tailored specifically for senior citizens, aged 60+, regardless of their musical background.
The initiative, which takes the form of a singalong, aims to promote health, well-being and joy through the power of music.
The next event is being held on January 9 at 11am at the Manoel’s Studio Theatre at 81, Old Mint Street, Valletta.
Tickets from teatrumanoel.mt. There will be other singalongs on February 27, March 20, April 17 and May 8.
Valletta Baroque Festival
The Valletta Baroque Festival is being held once again from January 9 to 25.Spanning over three weeks, the festival offers a quintessential experience of all that is baroque and takes place in exquisite baroque venues such as St John’s Co-Cathedral, the Verdala Palace, Palazzo Parisio and the Manoel Theatre, to name a few.
Organised by Festivals Malta, under the artistic direction of Kenneth Zammit Tabona, the event highlights the enormous versatility of the baroque idiom and its mass appeal.
This year’s festival will open with Alessandro Scarlatti’s La Giuditta, composed in 1693 with a libretto by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni.Considered to be Scarlatti’s finest oratorio, it will be performed by the Valletta International Baroque Ensemble and KorMalta, directed by Steven Devine.
Read more about the event here. For all the details and tickets, visit www.festivals.mt/vbf.
Conversations: Contemporary Works for Trumpet
The Jesuits’ Church Foundation is hosting its first event of the year at the Oratory of the Onorati in Valletta on January 9 at 7.30pm.
The concert, starring musicians Jason Camilleri (trumpet) and Milica Lawrence (piano), will be a showcase of contemporary works for trumpet. Thee include pieces by Clare Grundman, Richard Lane, Amy Dunker, Joseph Turrin, Robert Lowry, Kevin Mc Kee, and Andrew Wilson.
Entrance is free but donations are welcome.
Shostakovich’s Nightmare live
Pioneers of the Maltese alternative scene, Shostakovich’s Nightmare, are reuniting for a special show at Storeroom in Ta’ Xbiex, on January 11 at 9pm.
Tickets from trackagescheme.com.
Indie, alternative band Shostakovich's Nightmare. Photo: Shostakovich's NightmareTHEATRE
1881
Teatru Malta is presenting a novel work which blurs the line between theatre and game at Villa Bologna in Attard.
Set in an alternative universe, 1881 unfolds against a dystopian backdrop where the world teeters towards the brink of collapse. But this is no mere doomsday story: it is an exploration of human choice, identity and morality, within the context of an imminent Armageddon.
The immersive theatrical experience allows the audience to interact fully with the story and the actors who bring it to life. Wearing robes and masks, the participants come across various storylines and are offered a myriad of options/circumstances that challenge their values and instincts.
1881 also offers a number of quests, further enhancing the sense of gamification.
The production, which runs until March 2, is open to an adult audience. For more details and tickets, visit www.1881.show.
An interactive theatre experience by Teatru Malta, titled 1881, is running at Villa Bologna in Attard until March. Photo: Teatru MaltaDANCE
Burdell f’Strada Stretta
Moveo Dance Company is bringing to life tales from The Splendid, a former hotel which was originally a brothel, in the heart of Strait Street, Valletta.
The show will be performed to small, intimate audiences over the age of 16 between January 10 and 12.
Read more about the show here. Tickets from showshappening.com.
The setting for the performance is an old brothel in Strait Street, Valletta.FILMS
The Girl With the Needle
Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta is showing the 2024 Cannes Film Festival entry The Girl with the Needle, a dark fairy tale about one woman’s search for tenderness and morality in a cruel world and which is based on a true story.
Both eerie and exquisite, writer-director Magnus von Horn’s latest film tracks young factory worker Karoline as she struggles to survive in post-World War I Copenhagen. When she ends up unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, the charismatic Dagmar takes her in to help run an underground adoption agency for unwanted children. The two women form an unexpected bond, until a sudden discovery changes everything.
Denmark’s ‘Best International Feature Film’ entry to the 97th Academy Awards also features EFA-nominated performances from Vic Carmen Sonne and Trine Dyrholm, cinematography by EO’s Michał Dymek, and a score by Frederikke Hoffmeier.
The film, certified 15, is being shown in Danish with English subtitles from January 10 to 31. For tickets, visit kreattivita.org.
Nickel Boys
Another film opening at Spazju Kreattiv this week is the Golden Globes-nominated film Nickel Boys, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead.
The 2024 film, directed by RaMell Ross, chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
The film, certified 12A, is being shown on January 11 and other dates until February 2. The screening on January 24 will include an introduction and a post-film discussion on both the book and the movie.
Tickets from kreattivita.org.
Miscellaneous
Lecture on Rome’s squares and fountains
A lecture on the monumental squares and fountains of Rome is being held by the ArtsinMalta Society (ASinMalta) on January 9 at the Radisson Blu Resort in St Julian’s.
Professional Rome tourist guide Stuart Harvey will take a virtual stroll through the heart of Rome to discover some of the most iconic monuments of the Eternal City.
Twenty-eight centuries of history can be divided into three periods ‒ Rome of the Ancient Romans, Rome under the rule of the Popes, and Rome as the capital of a united Italy. One can admire monuments from all the three periods in an area less than a square mile.
Ancient Roman temples and other archeological remains rub shoulders with baroque churches, splendid fountains adorn magnificent piazzas, and the 20th-century monumentalism of united Italy adds a modern touch to this beautiful city.
The lecture starts at 6.30pm. For more information and registration, contact Nicole on mem.asinmalta @theartssociety.org or call on 9989 1006.