New operatic perspectives for Gozo

Kenneth Zammit Tabona speaks to opera director Marco Gandini whose CV reads like an operatic Almanach de Gotha and whom the Astra Theatre in Victoria have entrusted with their October production of Verdi's La Traviata.
I simply love speaking with artists who are passionate about their work. When the genre they work in happens to be in synch with my own ideas and experiences, an interview that was scheduled to last an hour could have lasted for days as when one meets a kindred spirit, one who without ever having met before, has the same ideas about a problematical art-form like opera then the proverbial click is bound to happen. Such and encounter was with Marco Gandini, who has been entrusted with the production of the Astra Theatre's next operatic venture in October.

Verdi's La Traviata is an opera that conjures up visions of an opulently decadent 19th century Paris. It is an opera where the librettist and the composer tried something quite new. Gone were the great Verdian heroines, or anti heroines if one considers Lady Macbeth; the great historical duchesses, princesses and queens have been replaced by a consumptive courtesan way past her prime who manages to attract and fascinate a much younger lover for whose good she sacrifices herself winning the rather Pyrrhic victory of dying in his arms. Admittedly, that is a rather coldblooded way of looking at it; however, we all know that it is the great music that Verdi created which makes this story one that is capable of moving the most stony-hearted to tears. All one has to do is listen to the Intermezzo and the mood is set.

Mr Gandini is renowned for making silk purses out of sow's ears. In this day and age with these annoying depressions and recessions to contend with, the arts have had to survive through sheer ingenuity. It is this ingenuity which Mr Gandini and I found so refreshing to talk about; something that against all odds can create something new and original by making the little grey cells work overtime. Inevitably when in this atmosphere it is difficult to stick to the subject as one anecdote tops another. What is interesting but unsurprising is that Mr Gandini has been inspired by the Gozo experience, meaning that like many foreign artistes who have touched upon opera production in Gozo, he is fascinated by the general enthusiasm and the support these operas generate; something that is rarely found anywhere else in the world and in such a unique place to boot.

I sometimes despair about opera in Malta. The organisers of the government entities, these last couple of years, especially since the Piano Project was mooted, have expressed an inexplicable hostility to the genre. There appears to be a conspiracy to kill it off as elitist and ancien regime! Opera, which reached the height of its popularity in the 19th century, was created to delight the masses and not the cognoscenti alone. My father and my maternal grandmother were great aficionados. My father because he was a natural music lover and my grandmother for being the wife of the ENT accredited to the Teatru Rjal. In their day, opera was a way of life. Both attended all performances in their palk abbonat; however, they were far from being the only ones.

People from all walks of life lived and breathed opera. Because of the intransigence of our successive governments since World War II at least two generations if not three have lost all sense of what opera is all about. The culture is missing and were it not for the two Gozo band clubs keeping the flame alight along with an increasingly strapped Manoel Theatre with their annual BoV Opera Festival, the rest of the year is utterly bereft of opera unless there's an operatic recital like Joseph Calleja's with the same warhorses wheeled out year in year out because Malta does not have the facilities to show our greatest ambassador to the world at his best; namely in an operatic role like in Simon Boccanegra. The Astra Theatre on the other hand was among the first to recognise Mr Calleja's incredible gift all those years ago when they casted him as Macduff. Ten years later, with Joseph Calleja already a household name they put Macbeth up again. Mr Gandini is well aware of all this. Speaking to him about the problems, especially the misconceptions, was a relief. We are not alone.

Up to a point we are all in the same predicament. Where we in Malta differ radically is that whereas abroad budgets shrink demand for operas increases. Composers are busy creating new operas and we in Malta, have as yet not even tapped into what has been happening in the operatic scene in the past century, let alone the present one. Mr Gandini has worked with and around artistic legends.

Reading his CV is like going through an operatic Almanach de Gotha! Despite having worked with Franco Zeffirelli for so many years bringing many of the maestro's magically beautiful productions to life, Mr Gandini is a realist.

He is delighted by Miriam Cauchi who he thinks is well up to interpreting the highly difficult role of Violetta; three soprano types in one; I was once told, and I too am confident that Ms Cauchi who delighted, thrilled and moved her audience with her Gilda in last year's Rigoletto is well up to the challenge. What I also was very enthused by was his willingness to participate in a scheme whereby schoolchildren will be acquainted with this uniquely inclusive genre. We must invest in culture far more than we do. Without it we will be like any other nondescript island in the Mediterranean.

Because of our very special European heritage handed down from our ancestors and the unique environment created by the Order of Malta and the British, we are a microcosm of Europe in many senses. We risk losing it all should this heritage not be nurtured.

• La Traviata, which promises to be a breakthrough in local operatic production, will be performed at the Astra on October 28 and 30 as part of the Festival Mediterranea. More information may be obtained by phone on 2155 0985, 9988 3007 or online: mediterranea.com.mt