About

Teatru Astra in Victoria, Gozo was inaugurated in January 1968. It forms part of a larger musical voluntary organisation, the Soċjetà Filarmonika La Stella, founded in 1863. During these years the theatre has hosted international performers such as Raffaella Carrà, The Goggi Sisters, Al Bano and Romina Power, The Platters, Bobby Solo, Osibisa, the Montparnasse Ballet Troupe and more recently, Nek, Amedeo Minghi and the Ballet Classique de Paris. Local talent has been extensively put to use and encouraged by the theatre management.

To Teatru Astra's credit, the Gozitan public enjoyed operettas such as Merry Widow, Principessa Della Czardas, The Goldoliers, The Great Waltz, Geisha and many others. Works of literary giants including Shakespeare, Goldoni, Ibsen, and Moliére were also presented on the Teatru Astra stage.

In 1978, Teatru Astra ventured in the greatest form of stage production: the Opera. Rigoletto was first to be performed while the most recent was Carmen, in 2022. During this period Teatru Astra produced the most important operas including famous works by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti and others (refer to the full list of opera productions). Teatru Astra patrons have been exposed to world-class singers direct from the Metropolitan Theatre in New York, Teatro alla Scala and Sofia State Opera House amongst whom Ghena Dimitrova, Pamela Kucenic, Adelaide Negri, Francesca Patane, Joseph Calleja, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Aldo Protti, Mark Rucker, Rumen Doikov, Daniela Dessi' and Giuseppe Giacomini. The Teatru Astra stage has also been the venue from where internationally acclaimed local artistes, including Miriam Cauchi and Joseph Calleja, debuted their operatic career.

Festival Mediterranea, now in its twentieth edition, is an initiative of Teatru Astra which is being marketed internationally. Teatru Astra has been refurbished in 2005 after an extensive fire which broke out on 8 November 2003.

In April 2016, Teatru Astra ventured into the musical genre, with Grease, followed by the record breaking productions of Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sister Act and The Sound of Music. In December 2022 Teatru Astra co-produced the first pantomime in Gozo.

The Teatru Astra complex and the La Stella Philharmonic Society underwent a major refurbishment project between 2020 and 2022, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period of time during which all major productions in the theatre had to be cancelled.