An operatic production with a difference
Mikiel Anton Vassalli College (MAVC) the national college for the visual and performing arts is putting up it’s yearly production Ġawhar Misjub – An Operatic Banquet on the 27th of May. This is not just another opera but a completely new concept.
MAVC through it’s multidisciplinary platform City of Humanity (Belt il-Bniedem) ,conceived and initiated by Dr.Reuben Pace in 2016, has established itself as a frontliner when it comes to multi-disciplinary productions. Last year the college released the first ever Maltese opera-film ; Blat : The Island Fortress which , besides being premiered to great success locally, has already been shown abroad in Vienna , Austria in February and Sarajevo ,Bosnia-Hersegovina in March).
This year the college is bringing together it’s various disciplines – music, drama, dance and visual arts to give us a live production. Ġawhar Misjub – An Operatic Banquet is made up of different pieces from different operas by different deceased Maltese composers. The pieces are bound together in the production in a unique way by presenting them in a particular situation (elaborating further would mean giving away spoilers).
Malta has a long tradition of composers of opera from the Baroque composers such as Giuseppe Arena (1707-1784) and Girolomo Abos (1715-1760) to contemporary composers such as Reuben Pace (1974 -) and Joseph Vella (1942-2018). Whilst the music of these Maltese operatic composers is sometimes performed abroad they are rarely , if ever performed in our islands. In fact one of the works included in Ġawhar Misjub is the opera Monna Bianca by the composer Giuseppe Camilleri (1903-1976) which has never been performed. Besides works by Arena ,Abos and Camilleri Ġawhar Misjub will expose works by Francesco Schira (1809-1883), Nicolo Isouard (1775-1818), Antonio Nani (1842-1929) , Luigi Vella (1868-1950) and Carmelo Pace (1906-1993).
The platform City of Humanity is an educational-artistic platform through which students acquire new skills and knowledges through practical application. For each role involved in a multi-disciplinary production (and these are many) students shadow help out and be guided by the professional engaged by the college. .For example when it comes to stage direction, 3 students are aiding the stage director Ms. Clare Ghigo in her tasks. When it comes to scene design and building ,5 students are assisting the set designer, Romoualdo Moretti and set builder Claudio Apap. The same goes for the other roles (wardrobe mistress, makeup and hair, light design, production management). Besides this, 3 students of the voice are taking up the role of solo singers, another 12 are taking part in the choir and 6 musical instrument students are joining the professional orchestra hired for the occasion. In all this year 72 students are taking part in this multi-disciplinary production.
The college has gone one step further than this. The process of taking part in the production will not only serve as a unique experience but will also result in the students receiving a certified and accredited award after they are appropriately assessed on their work. Students who want to do further studies in multi-disciplinary studies can sit for the Level 3 Certificate in Practical Multi-Disciplinary Studies in the Visual and Performing Arts, a course which the college launched last year. Applications for this course will open in May, visit the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College website for further information.
‘Ġawhar Misjub – An Operatic Banquet’ will be premiered on Saturday the 27th of May 8pm at the St.Agatha Auditorium Rabat. For Free tickets follow this link or scan this QR code.
