On Tuesday, 28 October, the Gran Salon at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta hosts Melomania, a unique “danced concert” created by dancer/choreographer Stéphanie Brochard and baroque violinist Bojan Čičić. The performance spans centuries, culminating in Sally Beamish’s Intrada e Fuga and Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor. melos = music | mania = madness

Melomania is neither a dance performance nor a concert, but a danced concert that embodies an intense passion for music, awakening the senses and dissolving the boundaries between sound and music.  A 55-minute duet that unites music and dance, created by renowned Baroque violinist Bojan Čičić and dancer-choreographer Stéphanie Brochard.  In this performance, two artists express their shared folie for music—one through sound, the other through movement—creating a visceral dialogue where music and dance become inseparable. 

On stage, a violinist and a dancer give shape to their shared intense love for music. Their dialogue unfolds without words, through bow strokes and gestures, humour and sensitivity. Music and movement respond to one another, echoing, teasing, and provoking in a continuous playful conversation. The journey spans from the 18th to the 21st century, with Bach as the guiding thread. The dance, too, travels between centuries, weaving together Baroque dance and contemporary movement. 

Melomania is a poetic and visceral experience that allows the audience to see music and hear movement. It awakens the senses, stirs the imagination, and celebrates the profound joy of creation—when two artists surrender to the same madness, the same delight, the same burning need to express.

Co-commissioned together with the Oxford Festival of the Arts as a choreography ‘in the round’, the festivals have collaborated to give this performance its second outing, following its premiere in Oxford. Prepare yourself to become part of an intimate, powerful, fragile, daring performance.

Programme

Friedrich Wilhelm Rust                Partita for violin Solo in D minor

I.                        Grave

II.                      Fuga

III.                    Gigue

IV.                  Ciacona – Gigue

V.                     Courante - Gigue

Jean Sebastian Bach                     Sonata No 2 for violin solo in A minor BWV 1003

I.                        Grave

II.                      Fuga

III.                    Andante

IV.                  Allegro

Sally Beamish                                   Intrada e Fuga for violin solo Programme Note

The exquisite arabesque cycles and grotesque painting in the Gran Salon at the Museum of Archaeology (originally built as the Auberge de Provençe of the Knights of the Order of St John in Malta, in the late 1570s during the tenure of Grand Master Jean l’Evesque de la Cassiere – a commissioner of some of Malta’s most magnificent palaces, including the Grandmaster’s Palace and St John’s Co-Cathedral – then the Conventual Church of the Order) conjure up the idea of dance and movement in my head.  Restoration works carried out at the Gran Salon have revealed various layers of decorations from different times in the history of this hall; and it therefore seemed more appropriate to span works from the 17^th century to modern times, with the music of contemporary composer Sally Beamish – her Intrada e Fuga for violin solo – a work whose fugue is written in direct relation to Bach’s Sonata No 2 for unaccompanied violin in A minor, BWV 1003, which will be immediately preceding this in the evening. 

A virtuosic showcase, with different voices flowing episodically in between strictly fugal passages – an incredible tour-de-force of contrapuntal imitation.  An evening where one instrument converses with itself (through the different lines of subject and answer, and personalities), keeping multiples lines going, whilst the artform speaks to the architecture, and the music and the movement exchange exciting conversation – sometimes witty, and sometimes very intense.

Stéphanie Brochard moves between contemporary and early dance, building bridges between these dance forms. Trained in France and Canada, she enriches her practice with a theatrical approach to movement, influenced by her time at the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris.

Croatian-born, internationally-renown violinist Bojan Čičić has established himself as one of the leading names on the early music scene, as both a soloist and music director. He is a Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music.

  Artist profile Bojan Čičić Croatian-born violinist Bojan Čičić is internationally recognised as a leading figure in early music, admired both as a soloist and director. He serves as leader of the Academy of Ancient Music and frequently directs ensembles including the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Dunedin Consort, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Phion Orkest van Gelderland & Overijssel. In May 2025 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Lyra Baroque Orchestra in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a soloist, he has appeared with major groups such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century, Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo, and Orquesta Barocca de Sevilla.

Bojan is also the founder of the Illyria Consort, dedicated to exploring rarely performed 17th- and 18th-century repertoire. Their debut on Delphian Records, Carbonelli: Sonate da camera, won the Presto Recording of the Year Award in 2017. Further acclaimed releases include Adriatic Voyage with the Marian Consort (Presto Award, 2021), Pyrotechnia (virtuoso violin concertos by Vivaldi, Tartini, Locatelli), and Scherzi da violino solo by Johann Jacob Walther (praised by Gramophone). In 2022 they issued La Notte, an album of Christmas instrumental music, and their recording of Biber’s Violin Sonatas 1681 was named Gramophone’s Recording of the Month.

Bojan’s solo recording of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas earned a 2023 Gramophone Critic’s Choice nomination and BBC Music Magazine Editor’s Choice. Since 2016 he has been Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music, where he is deeply committed to training the next generation of historically informed performers. Stéphanie Brochard Dancer and choreographer Stéphanie Brochard moves between contemporary and early dance, building bridges between these forms. Trained in France and Canada, she enriches her movement practice with a theatrical dimension inspired by her time at the École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

She has performed in contemporary dance productions for young audiences and led numerous workshops for children.

A specialist in Baroque and Renaissance dance, she collaborates with early music ensembles and performs at major festivals such as the Boston Early Music Festival and the Montreal Baroque Festival.

Since 2018, she has co-directed Les Jardins Chorégraphiques, developing a distinctive choreographic language that fosters a unique dialogue between historical and contemporary dance, uniting musicians and dancers on stage.