VALLETTA EARLY OPERA FESTIVAL
PRESENTS
IL RE
PASTORE
IN COLLABORATION WITH
UPCOMING SHOW
IL RE PASTORE
Out of the three dozen operas that Mozart composed, only a handful are typically performed. For the second edition of the Valletta Early Opera Festival, Festivals Malta in collaboration with Teatru Manoel presents and enchanting rendition of Il Re Pastore. During this year’s edition of VEOF, the event returns with one of Mozart’s underappreciated pieces, with the return of Maestro Giulio Prandi at the helm of the orchestral ensemble in this tale of war, starcrossed lovers and triumph from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s earlier repertoire; a piece which Mozart composed when still only 19 years old. Comparable to the quartet of lovers present in his famed Così Fan Tutte, Il Re Pastore is a piece that engages with similar themes through an Italian libretto by Metastasio.
Date
8th, 9th Nov 24 - 7:30pm
10th Nov 2024 - 4:00pm
Duration
110min
Language
Italian with English Surtitles
Venue
Teatru Manoel, Valletta
Price
€20 - €50
THE CREATIVE TEAM
IL RE PASTORE
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Music
Pietro Metastasio
Libretto
Giulio Prandi
Musical Director & Conductor
Tommaso Franchin
Opera Director
Giovanna Fiorentini
Costume Designer
Fabio Carpene
Set Designer
CAST
IL RE PASTORE
Teatru Manoel is a historic venue which also holds the title of Europe’s oldest fully functioning theatre has been operating since 1731 and has been home to events of significant importance within Malta’s cultural and political history.
Teatru Manoel is a historic venue which also holds the title of Europe’s oldest fully functioning theatre has been operating since 1731 and has been home to events of significant importance within Malta’s cultural and political history.
Standard Ticket Prices
Concession Prices
Category 2
€35
€17.50
Category 3
€25
€12.50
Category 1
€50
€25
Category 4
€20
NA
TICKETS
Category 1 - 4
Standard Ticket Prices
Concession Prices
Category 1
€55
27.50
Category 2
€35
€17.50
Category 3
€25
€12.50
Concessions are applicable to senior citizens (over 60 years), persons with a disability* (on presentation of a valid disability card), students (on presentation of student card), European Youth Card holders (on presentation of card), and minors (between 11 -16 years).
*Persons with a disability can send an email to christian.debono.2@festivals.mt for a complimentary companion ticket (on presentation of a valid disability card).
FOREWORDS
FRANS AGIUS
Apollo et Hyacinthus is yet another performance produced by Festivals Malta– this time under the umbrella of the Valletta Early Opera Festival. For this first edition of the Valletta Early Opera Festival, we are proud to be producing Apollo et Hyacinthus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first opera.
Since it was first shown to an audience in Salzburg in 1767, Apollo et Hyacinthus has rarely been performed, with it often being left by the wayside in favour of his later masterpieces such as Le Nozze Di Figaro and Così Fan Tutte. It is for this reason that the festival’s Artistic Director Kenneth Zammit Tabona selected this particular production to be the first performance of the festival; to expose local audiences and people visiting the Maltese Islands to a work which is somewhat unfamiliar to even the most seasoned of opera-goers.
This interpretation of Apollo et Hyacinthus which is directed by renowned Italian Opera Director Fabio Ceresa promises to give a new spin on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first opera. This year, we are happy to be partnering up with our long-term collaborators Teatru Manoel to bring this opera to their stage with local and foreign opera performers and musicians who have shared their talents on some of the most renowned stages in the world of opera.
As the national government body dedicated to the nurturing and growth of festivals and cultural events in Malta and Gozo, Festivals Malta is proud to be providing a platform for audiences to experience some of opera’s finest, as well as promoting cross-cultural collaboration. Without further ado, enjoy the hard work and creativity that is bringing you this unique performance of Apollo et Hyacinthus.
FESTIVALS MALTA CEO
KENNETH ZAMMIT TABONA
After Monteverdi patented the operatic form that we still recognize today in the 18th century, the genre took the civilized world by storm and composers and librettists were working round the clock to keep their aristocratic patrons happy with fabulous stories mostly taken from mythology.
This year, the Valletta Early Opera Festival is proud to be presenting Mozart’s first opera Apollo et Hyacinthus. The work was composed to a Latin libretto by Rufinus Widl is more of an intermezzo inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphosis and deals with love and jealousy leading to the accidental death of the handsome Hyacinth and his metamorphosis into the eponymous flower.
Mozart was just eleven years old when he composed this lovely work. Apollo et Hyacinthus is a rare, but very beautiful piece written by a child prodigy whose works have enchanted their listeners for over two centuries. Even though the work was composed when Mozart was so young, it still contains baroque musical elements and references.
It is an ideal production for a theatre such as the Teatru Manoel which, despite its subsequent history, still displays strong references to the architectural maxims established by the Galli-Bibiena family whose name is still synonymous with operatic architecture till this day.
As Apollo et Hyacinthus takes the Teatru Manoel stage with a team with a visual and conceptual direction that puts an emphasis on expounding beauty with a capital ‘B’, I invite you to sit down and marvel at the opera that paved the way for The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787).
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
SUPPORTED BY
Federico Fiorio
Aminta
Catherine Trottman
Elisa
Claire Debono
Tamiri
Nico Darmanin
Alessandro
