About Il Parnaso Confuso
& La Corona
In a rare double-bill, the Valletta Early Opera Festival presents two one-act operas by reformist composer Christoph Willibald Gluck: Il Parnaso Confuso and La Corona. Though differing in tone and setting, these two-one act operas composed in 1765 for the daughters of Empress Maria Therese, are united by their elegant mythological storytelling, rich vocal writing, and Gluck’s early vision of opera as both spectacle and emotional truth.
In Il Parnaso Confuso, the muses of Mount Parnassus bicker over who should perform at a royal event. Set in a world of witty rivalry and creative vanity, the opera is a satire of artistic ego and courtly pomp. This production, which has Giulio Prandi as Conductor & Musical Director and Brett Brown as director draws aesthetic inspiration from the opulence of the Roaring Twenties, referencing The Bright Young Things and salomania.
Immediately following, La Corona offers a tonal shift. Centered on Atalanta, a fearless huntress chosen to slay a deadly boar, it celebrates female heroism and moral clarity. Set against the backdrop of World War II, this production references the fashion and resilience of wartime Britain, including visual nods to Queen Elizabeth’s mechanical service, balancing strength with grace.
Together, these operas form a compelling evening of musical and visual contrasts—moving from satire to sincerity, from decadent fantasy to wartime resolve—brought to life by an exceptional creative team and performed in the historic splendour of Teatru Manoel, in the heart of Malta’s capital city, Valletta.
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In Collaboration With
Supported By
Sponsored By
An Operatic Double Bill
THE VALLETTA EARLY OPERA
CREATIVE
TEAM
NOVEMBER 2025
CAST - IL PARNASO CONFUSO
Gillian Zammit
Apollo
Cledia Micallef
Euterpe
Gabrielle Portelli
Erato
Caterina Iora
Melpomene
CAST - LA CORONA
Francesca Aquilina
Atalanta
Gillian Zammit
Meleagra
Catrina Iora
Melpomene
Bettina Zammit
Asteria
KENNETH ZAMMIT TABONA
Artistic Director
I have long been fascinated by the Habsburg Dynasty. As a Royal and imperial Family, it is unique in the sense that the colossal territories they ruled were rarely if ever conquered but inherited through fortuitous marriages and unforeseen deaths. In fact, historians coined this couplet specifically for them:
“The strong wage war
You o happy Austria Marry
What mars gives to others
Venus hives to you.”
Maria Theresia was the last of the House of Habsburg. The family inheritances hung by a thread, and aggressors like Charles of Bavaria and Frederick of Prussia grabbed hereditary Habsburg lands thinking that this plump and blue-eyed archduchess wouldn’t retaliate, but she did. She kept the empire intact for her husband Francis Stephen of Lorraine to whom she bore sixteen children while at war and building Schönbrunn Palace, and other wonderful Viennese wonders.
Christoph Willibald Gluck was Maria Theresia’s favourite composer who had a foot in both the baroque and the classical worlds, and composed wonderful operas like Orpheus ed Euridice which are smash hits to this very day.
Gluck composed these two operas, Il Parnaso Confuso and La Corona specifically for four of Maria Theresia’s daughters to perform probably with their father playing cello and one or two of the archdukes playing various instruments. The Habsburgs were a very musical family and several of Maria Theresia’s direct ancestors composed serious music.
It has long been a dream of mine to present these archducal operas to the public. I am delighted to turn this dream a reality with the collaboration of my dear friend Giulio Prandi who will be assisted by Giacomo Biagi, both of whom will be conducting the Palermitan Arianna Ensemble on period instruments.
Australian stage Director Brett Brown is supported by some of Malta’s finest artistic minds on the creative team, including Anthony Bonnici who was part of the winning London Biennale team designing the sets, fashion guru and Luke Azzopardi designing the costumes, and expert light designer Moritz Zavan Stoeckle.
I am sure that with a team of lady singers led by Gillian Zammit who runs the Abos Project and Opera Nova the two historical gems will prove to be a great success.
I am sure that with a team of womenlady singers led by Gillian Zammit who runs the Abos Projerct and Opera Nova Project, the two historical gems will prove to be a great success.
The operas are one-acters and will establish a sort of Cav and Pag coupling which I hope will ignite the imagination of the opera going public and prove to be a lasting success.