Updated with MPO's and Teatru Manoel's comments 

Raoul Lay has resigned from his position as artistic director of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

In a long resignation letter copied to the prime minister, Culture Minister Jose' Herrera and MPO executive chairman Sigmond Mifsud, he said several clauses of his contract had not been respected and his efforts to have the situation remedied had been unsuccessful.

"I've never been able to really work on the general organisation of all MPO activities," he said, including the operas given at the Manoel Theatre or in Gozo, the tours conducted by the principal conductor, the need to hire better orchestra soloists, the need to modify the defective acoustics of the Manoel Theatre,  proposals for touring especially in China, his wish to record French music records, his proposal for a partnership with French Embassy for hosting well known French soloists, and his proposal to build an International Malta Opera Factory. 

He said he had been unable to develop the MPO and its musicians as he would have liked. His concerns about musicians having an insufficient level were apparently listened to but not acted upon, he said.

He said he had sought to attract prestigious soloists for MPO concerts with no real reaction by the administrative team. 

Mr Lay said he had very little control over the programming policy outside his five concerts.

He said that over the course of the past five months he had tried to understand the MPO’s main artistic goals, through Mifsud’s particular vision.

Contacted for his reaction, Mr Mifsud rejected all claims levelled against him and the board, describing Mr Lay’s letter as a “blatant lie”.

“A few days ago, the board of directors decided to terminate his job during the probation period as it felt he was not meeting expectations,” he said.

“Last Thursday, when I phoned Mr Lay to communicate the decision, in view of the fact that he lives abroad, he asked me if the board could reconsider it.

Though I instructed him to send a formal request in writing, the only thing we received was his ‘resignation’ letter,” Mr Mifsud added.

The board had every right to terminate Mr Lay’s employment at this stage given his €50,000 salary while not meeting the expected standards.

Mr Lay reacts

In a reaction, Mr Lay said he was not aware that Mr Mifsud or the board of the MPO had the intention of firing him, especially after everyone including the musicians as well as the audience seemed to be so enthusiastic with his work.

"If they did want to sack me, it was done behind my back in a rather callous manner."

As to Mr. Mifsud's reference to a probation period, Mr Lay said this did not figure anywhere in his contract.

He said his fee was also wrongly quoted." My contract stipulates a fee of €35,251 plus a special allowance of €10,000 and not €50,000," he said.

The MPO explains

The Malta Philharmonic in another statement said Lay's contract commenced on the 5 October 2019 and he was on probation as stipulated at law. The board noted Lay’s performance over the past months, and expressed its reservations on his vision and commitment towards the orchestra.

It resolved to terminate the contract within the probation period.

Lay was personally contacted by Mifsud, communicating the board’s decision.  Lay asked the board to reconsider its position over the following days. However, whilst the Board was still considering its earlier position, and waiting
for Lay’s email regarding the matter, Lay submitted a resignation letter shifting the blame to the MPO’s officials.

Teatru Manoel reacts

In a reaction, Teatru Manoel on Friday said that at no time was it ever intimated in the meetings held by Lay and the theatre’s artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona that there were to be any discussion about opera selection in the theatre. 

Operas have, for the past six years since Zammit Tabona has been artistic director, been chosen for their suitability to the size, ambience and style of an 18th century building, the theatre said.

The theatre hires and pays the MPO for their services. 

Regarding the defective acoustic that Lay referred to, the theatre said that that although "dry", the theatre’s acoustic is “perfect for all the other artistic disciplines it organises throughout the season”.

The theatre also pointed out that the government’s electoral manifesto had pledged to find, provide and build a suitable concert hall for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. 

“It is to be clearly understood that Teatru Manoel is a historic theatre built in 1731 and as such should only host performances that do not interfere with its fabric. That includes any proposed alteration in its acoustic to accommodate a genre for which it was not created for and is, size-wise, impossible to fulfil; especially without consulting the board and management of the theatre beforehand,” the theatre said. 

Read the resignation letter and the MPO statement in full by clicking on the pdfs below.