THEATRE
Betrayal
Masquerade Malta is staging Harold Pinter’s masterpiece on relationships and adultery, Betrayal, at Blue Box, M Space, in Msida, from January 21 to 29.
Widely considered to be Pinter’s most accessible work, this devastating dissection of a love triangle presents a compelling portrait of both the relationship between the lovers and the competitiveness of male friendships.
Betrayal stars Naomi Said as Emma, Edward Caruana Galizia as Jerry and Nicholas Jackson as Emma’s husband and Jerry’s close friend, Robert. The play, suitable for an audience over 12 years of age, will also feature live music from violinist Sean Borg.
There will be shows on January 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29. For tickets, log on to www.masquerademalta.com/.
MUSIC
Valletta Baroque Festival
The Valletta Baroque Festival continues this week, from January 18, with more concerts in various locations across Malta:
Music from the Court of Versailles, performed by Sarah Spiteri (baroque viola) and Pablo Zapico (theorbo) at the Bibliotheca, Valletta, on January 18 at noon;
Baroque Quintessence of Handel & Vivaldi, starring Gabetta Consort with counter-tenor Valer Barna-Sabadus at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on January 18 at 7.30pm;
Goldberg Nights, by the Signum Saxophone Quartet and Kai Schumacher (piano) on January 19 at noon;
Mozart in Milan, performed by the Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri at the collegiate basilica of St Helen, Birkirkara, on January 19 at 7.30pm;
Kuhnau Biblical Sonatas, featuring Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) and Jonathan Keates (narrator) at St Mary of Jesus church (Ta’ Ġieżu), Rabat, on January 20 at noon;
Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri, performed by the Valletta Baroque Ensemble and KorMalta at St Theresa church, Cospicua, on January 20 at 4pm;
Bieber’s Rosary Sonatas, by Robert Bachara & Capella Cracoviensis at the Immaculate Conception church, Cospicua, on January 20 at 8pm;
Ardet Meum Cor, featuring the Arsenale Sonoro, directed by Boris Begelman with soprano Aspromonte, at the parish church of the Assumption, Għaxaq, on January 21 at noon;
The Bach Family and Telemann, starring Isang Enders (cello) and Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) at Verdala Palace, Buskett, on January 21 at 4pm;
Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Trevor Bowes as Polifemo, at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on January 21 at 8pm;
Rameau’s Divine Keyboard, featuring director and keyboard player Steven Devine at the Cathedral Museum, Mdina, on January 22 at 11am;
Delicatessen, starring Steven Devine and Kate Semmens, at the Cathedral Museum, Mdina, on January 22 at 3pm;
Lust and Love Lost, performed by Combattimento with soprano Claudia Patacca, at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on January 22 at 6pm.
The festival runs until January 29. For all the details, visit festivals.mt/vbf.
View of the concert CPE Bach Sonatas with musicians Johanna Rose and Javier Nuñez, which took place last week as part of the Valletta Baroque Festival. The festival runs until January 29. Photo: Elisa von BrockdorffThe Singing Trumpet
Pianist Milica Lawrence and trumpeter Jason Camilleri will perform in the weekly lunchtime concert organised by the Barocco Foundation in collaboration with Din l-Art Ħelwa at Our Lady of Victory church, Valletta, on January 17 at 12.30pm.
The programme features works by David E. Harris, Sammy Nestico, Willard Zirk, Andrew M. Wilson, Paul Drayton and Oscar Bohme.
After the concert, patrons are invited for free to the cellar of the church to watch a short audiovisual show about the building, its history and its restoration.
Entrance to the concert is at a suggested donation of €10. One can obtain the tickets prior to the concert from the venue, by e-mailing baroccomalta@gmail.com or calling 7968 0952.
Pianist Milica Lawrence and trumpeter Jason CamilleriGerman Masterpieces for Viola
Lucas Garcia Conrad. Photo: FacebookYoung, upcoming violist Lucas Garcia Conrad will be performing at the Oratory of the Immaculate, Jesuit church, Valletta, on January 19 as part of the ‘Music & More at the Jesuits’ series.
The programme includes German masterpieces for viola such as Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, which was originally written for the arpeggione, a now obsolete instrument that resembles a bowed guitar.
Entrance to the concert, which starts at 7.30pm, is free but a donation towards the Jesuit Foundation’s cultural programme is appreciated.
Entrance to the oratory is from Archbishop Street to the side of the Jesuit church.
Electric Café Concert
Electronic Music Malta is presenting a night of live electronic interpretations of timeless classics by the likes of Daft Punk, Boards of Canada and Yazoo, among others.
Taking part are Ghost, Aidan Somers, Bark Bark Disco, Duo Blank, Hearts Beating in Time, jay Zinga, Jodie Fiteni, Manuel Pulis, Mutex, Sound Synthesis, Stefan Xuereb and Yama Gata.
The event, supported by Arts Council Malta, is taking place at Spazju Kreattiv, in Valletta, on January 21 at 8pm. For more information and tickets, visit www.kreattivita.org.
Sacrae Cantiunculae
KorMalta will be performing for the first time in Gozo on January 22, when they will present the last concert of the 15th edition of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music.
The event was originally scheduled for late November as part of the festival’s ‘A Cappella Live’ series but was postponed as the Gozo ferry had cancelled its service due to bad weather.
Under the direction of conductor Riccardo Bianchi, KorMalta will be performing a varied sacred repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the contemporary.
Entrance to the concert is free and no reservations are required.
Members of KorMaltaFiLM
The Ister – Film screening and seminar
The Department of English at the University of Malta is screening the 2004 documentary The Ister, followed by an informal seminar discussion, at Lecture Hall Theatre 2 on January 17 between 3.30 and 8.30pm.
The film, directed by David Barison and Daniel Ross, traces a 3,000-kilometre journey to the heart of Europe, from the mouth of the Danube river on the Black Sea, to its source in the German Black Forest. It is loosely based on the works of philosopher
Martin Heidegger, in particular the 1942 lecture course he delivered, Hölderlins Hymne Der Ister, about a poem, Der Ister, by German poet Friedrich Hölderlin.
Entrance is free and is open to anyone with an interest in poetry, posthumanism, philosophy and film.
Happy Chinese New Year Festival
The festival, organised by the China Cultural Centre in Malta and Spazju Kreattiv, continues this week with the screening of the 2019 films Looking Up (PG) on January 17 at 7.30pm and The Wandering Earth (12A) on January 21 at 6pm.
The films will be showing at Spazju Kreattiv, in Valletta, in Chinese with English subtitles. For more information and tickets, click here.
A scene from The Wandering Earth.MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS
Come Fiori tra Spine: A Borromean Spirituality for the Knights of Malta ca.1570-1620
PhD researcher Matthias Ebejer will try to provide some insights into the spiritual reform of the Order of St John during the above-mentioned period, especially delving into Tridentinism, Malta and the Order, at the Oratory of the Immacolata, Jesuit church, Valletta, on January 16, at 7pm.
The lecture forms part of the ‘Music and More at the Jesuits’ series, organised by the Jesuits’ Church Foundation. Entrance is free but donations are welcome.
For more information, click here.
Talk on humanism
A public talk on humanism – an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognising that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone – is taking place at Arthall, in Victoria, on January 20 at 7.30pm.
Speaker Godfrey Vella, an engineer, IT specialist, educator, guitarist and humanist, will discuss what humanism is about, whether it can replace religion to serve as a basis of how one should live one’s life and what characterises a person as being a humanist.
Entrance is free. For more information, contact Marta Obiols Fornell at arthallgozo@gmail.com.
Illuminated Italian Renaissance manuscripts
Martina Caruana, director of MCAST’s Institute for the Creative Arts, is delivering a public lecture on the illuminated Italian Renaissance manuscripts found at the National Library of Malta, in Valletta, on January 20 at 6.30pm.
The lecture, which will be in English, forms part of Malta Libraries’ Public Lecture Series 2022-2023 at the National Library of Malta ‘Created to Inspire: 500 years of artistic splendour in Malta’. Admission is free and no prior booking is necessary.
For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.
VISUAL ARTS
Enlightenment
Rebecca Cassar is presenting an exhibition of her latest works at the art galleries of the Malta Society of Arts seat, Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta, until January 26.
The exhibition focuses on the use of colour, texture, and 23.5-karat gold leaf to express the artist's personal journey over the past year and a half.
The galleries are open Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. They are closed on Sundays and public holidays. For more information about the exhibition, click here and for more information about the artist, visit rebeccacassar.com.
Mystic Pathways by Rebecca CassarLampuki Moqli
The Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana is hosting an exhibition by artist Mariam De Giorgio.
De Giorgio specialises in acrylic painting and illustration but also enjoys experimenting with ink, watercolours and mixed media. Her paintings have a distinctive personal style that allows viewers to enter a fantasy world. This is also due to the choice of palette, even when depicting real places and figures.
Curated by Charlene Vella, the exhibition runs until the end of the month.
Day of Repose by Mariam De GiorgioHarmony in Motion
Joseph Casapinta’s lastest exhibition features watercolour-based works created both in his studio and during en plein air sessions.
The title Harmony in Motion harks back to Casapinta's Dancing Brushes exhibition of 2008, which was about the harmonious ‘dancing’ movements of his brushwork that helped him develop a different style and technique while showing his love for our country’s past and present, through landscapes and urban scenes.
Harmony in Motion, hosted by Gemelli Art Gallery, Ta’ Qali Crafts Village, is open until January 31. Consult the artist’s Facebook page for more information.
Għad-dawl tax-xemx by Joseph CasapintaA Date with MeliTension
Local artist Ramon Azzopardi Fiott is showcasing 10 digital paintings depicting fantastical creatures inspired by icons of Maltese identity, set against local backdrops.
He is also debuting MINItension, a series of limited-edition fine art prints that are smaller, have a larger print run and a more modest price tag than the standard edition.
The works are being showcased at the DATE Art Café, Cospicua, until January 27.
Read an interview with the artist here.
Gardjola by Ramon Azzopardi FiottAmygdala
Blitz is hosting an exhibition by Kim Sammut and curated by Sara Dolfi Agostini from January 12 to February 9.
Sammut is the recipient of Blitz Valletta's competitive open call for a Malta-based emerging artist launched in 2022. As the chosen artist, she was granted the opportunity to present a new project produced and exhibited by Blitz.
This initiative is intended to give the successful applicant a curated platform to express themselves, an occasion to work one-to-one with an international curator on a new commission and improve their professional skills while promoting their artistic practice, while Blitz acts as a host institution, a mentor and partner.
The exhibition, supported by Arts Council Malta, is open at Blitz, 68, St Lucia Street, Valletta, from Wednesday to Friday from 2 to 5pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. It is closed from Sunday to Tuesday.
For more information, visit the gallery's Facebook page or https://blitzvalletta.com/.
Embody by Kim SammutC'est la vie
Ceramist Joseph Agius is exhibiting a series of works focusing on various aspects of life at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba.
The exhibition title is meant as a tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic comment to highlight the alienation that we are surrounded with and the ‘laissez-faire’ way of life that we are so used to live in.
The theme focuses on various rules, attitudes and different social ‘traditions’, along with serious social issues, including migration, poverty, genocide and injustice.
The exhibition opens on January 20 at 7pm and runs until February 12. For opening hours and more details, click here.
Ceramist Joseph Agius. Photo: FacebookExperiments in Entropy
The second law of thermodynamics states that as energy is transformed, it incrementally dissipates and tends towards loss, decay and waste. This is the process of entropy; a process of mutual construction and demolition. It applies to societies and to systems, as it does to the natural environment, and has generated curiosity since its peak in art production in the 1960s.
Ten architects, who collectively started architecture school a decade ago, have been asked to investigate trajectories of this narrative in their daily grind and the result is on show at the Valletta Contemporary from January 11 to February 18. It is curated by Andrew Borg Wirth.
The gallery in East Street, Valletta, is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 2 to 7pm. It is closed betwen Sundays and Tuesdays. Look up the Valletta Contemporary Facebook page for more information. Also read this Times of Malta feature.
ARKA by Feliċ MicallefAnamnesis
Artist Clint Calleja is presenting an introspective exhibition consisting of paintings, sculptures, photography and installations revolving around the theme of ‘trauma and memory’.
Curated by Kenneth Cassar, this exhibition purports to be an intimate confession through four life-changing tragic chapters that have marked the artist and his family in a short period of time.
The exhibition, supported by Arts Council Malta, opens on January 20 and runs till February 26. For more information, visit kreattivita.org.
One of Clint Calleja's worksAnthological Art Exhibition
Artist Mario Zammit-Lewis is showing his latest works at the parliament building in Valletta from January 15.
The exhibition retrospectively explores the various aspects of the artist’s oeuvre that is stylistically and thematically very eclectic. A monograph, published to accompany the exhibition, will be launched during the inauguration and will be available for purchase at the venue.
Zammit Lewis, born to a Maltese father and an Italian mother, has exhibited extensively abroad. He is the recipient of a number of international awards that have celebrated his accomplishments along the years.
Anthological Art Exhibition runs until February 28. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am till noon.
The 550-page monograph accompanies Mario Zammit Lewis's exhibition at the Parliament building.OTHER EXHIBITIONS
She Said Darling with a 'K': Reimagining Katya Saunders
Spazju Kreattiv is dedicating an exhibition to the life of Katya Saunders, three years after her death.
The exhibition, which features a catalogue of photos, clothes and memorabilia, highlights the different facets of one of the first transgender women who broke boundaries in terms of sexual diversity and inclusion in Malta.
Curated by Charlie Cauchi and Romeo Roxman Gatt, the exhibition is also complemented by the launch of Saunders's official biography, penned by Ramona Depares, Kayta: Easy on the Tonic, which will take place on January 6.
The exhibition runs until January 22. Spazju Kreattiv is open from Tuesday to Sunday.
Photographs and memorabilia of Katya Saunders on display at Spazju Kreattiv. Photo: Facebook/Spazju KreattivUnseen and Unheard: Stories of Women Under Fire
A painting by Alfred Gerada, forming part of the Albert Ganado Family Collection, on display at the exhibition. Photo: Facebook/Storm Petrel Foundation.The Storm Petrel Foundation is presenting an archival exhibition that sheds light on overlooked or previously unrecorded war narratives and microhistories from Malta and elsewhere.
It brings together items and artefacts drawn from different collections, with a primary focus on wartime experiences of women and girls.
The exhibition was inspired by a series of conversations between the NGO and Robert Attard, who had found a collection of letters written by a young German woman during World War II, some of which are on display.
The exhibition is organised across five different rooms at the Storm Petrel Foundation’s premises in Attard, with each room representing a different era or focus.
The Storm Petrel Foundation has collaborated with Simon Cusens, Kim Dalli, Sharp Shoot Media, Media Coop, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, Sarah Chircop and Giuliana Fenech, Heritage Malta, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and Palazzo Falson.
The exhibition runs until April 14. Opening hours: Wednesdays to Fridays from 5.30 to 8pm and the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 12.30pm. For more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page.