Joseph Calleja’s 25th anniversary concert, whose special guest will be opera legend Placido Domingo, will be enhanced by the presence of two renowned conductors.
Sergey Smbatyan, the founding artistic director of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, is set to lead the MPO on opera classics such as Dei Miei Bollenti Spiriti from La Traviata as well as hits Maria and Tonight from the musical West Side Story.
Guest conductor Ramon Tebar, who has already collaborated with Calleja on a Decca record dedicated to Verdi as well as several concerts, will take the baton for big hitting Spanish classics like Granada and Aranjuez as well as a number of other popular classics.
Smbatyan has presented the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Malta Philharmonic throughout Europe, Russia and the United States, with performances including Vienna’s Musikverein, the Berlin Philharmonie, Salzburg’s Großes Festspielhaus, London’s Barbican Centre, the Gasteig Munich, Rudolfinum in Prague, Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory and New York’s Carnegie Hallwhere he made his debut at the age of 28.
He has been significantly influenced by his lessons with Riccardo Muti and Sir Colin Davis which he undertook during his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and is a winner of multiple European conducting and violin competitions.
Tebar, who is artistic and music director of Orquesta de Valencia and at Opera Naples, has conducted all over the world.
In addition to also being music director at the Florida Grand Opera (Miami), Palm Beach Symphony and the Santo Domingo Festival, the Spanish conductor has also recorded for Decca, Universal, and Unitel and been bestowed the Cross of Officer of the Order of Civil Merit by King Felipe VI of Spain.
The participation of these two conductors was made possible with the support of European Foundation for Support of Culture President Konstantin Ishkhanov.
The concert, on Tuesday, will take place in the surroundings of Fort Manoel.It is being produced by Mint Media with the support of the Malta Tourism Authority, the European Foundation for Support of Culture, Bank of Valletta and Midi.