The festival opens on Monday, 27 October at the late c-16^th Church of Santa María Maddalena in Valletta, with a haunting cinematic experience: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the silent German expressionist classic, will be brought to life through live improvisation by guitarist and composer Glen Montanaro. Programme Note a world which is not quite all that it seems...

Dare to immerse yourself in the terrifying tale of Dr Caligari and his homicidal somnambulist. A silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) is popularly known as silent cinema’s original horror film. Born out of the German Expressionist movement, it is a landmark in cinematic devices; and has been most influential on film noir – a seminal of the new gothic. It has been referred to as the first cult film and a precursor for Art film. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is famous for its contorted cubist sets, unusual angles, spinning umbrellas masquerading as a fairground, and the contrast of shadow and light, that aim to express inner states of being, and the ‘twist ending’ which reveals that the main narrative is actually the delusion of a madman. You will find yourself immersed in an eerie world of betrayal and bloodshed and irrational authority, as this spine-tingling story unfolds in some of the most haunting images of the cinema.

Commission by Three Palaces Festival for a solo guitar composition/improvisation live score by Glen Montanaro, who will be creating music that draws on the experimental genre whilst echoing the influences of early German expressionism. This will be taking place at the late c-16^th Church of Santa María Maddalena in Valletta – a church, built for Franciscan nuns, following the Order of St Clare. The Monastery was the only female Hospitaller monastery for penitent prostitutes in the Order's history.  It became the richest monastic institution in Malta, thanks to patronage and endowments, with Pope Clement VIII’s decree, giving the house the rights to one fifth of the goods and estates of deceased prostitutes in Malta.  This enabled the house to flourish.  The nuns invested in property and moveable wealth, and it soon became a wealthy home of entrepreneurial women. It is a noble and historic building combining Mannerist and Baroque architecture. I was delighted when Maltese guitarist and composer Glen Montanaro, now living in Denmark, accepted by invitation to bring this movie to life through live improvisation.

  Artist Glen Montanaro

Glen Montanaro is a Maltese guitarist and composer known for his evocative, atmospheric approach to improvised music. Rooted in ambient jazz and minimalism, his work often explores the emotional resonance of space, memory, and silence. Glen’s performances blend intuitive sensitivity with sonic experimentation, creating immersive experiences that blur the boundaries between sound and image. Currently based in Denmark, he is active across the Nordic and Mediterranean scenes, drawing on diverse influences to craft music that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. At the Three Palaces Festival, Glen will perform a live improvised score to a silent film, weaving together guitar textures and spontaneous composition to bring the screen to life in real time. His work has been featured at festivals and venues across Europe, and he continues to explore how music can function as a form of storytelling, memory, and dialogue between art forms.

A film from the holdings of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung (www.murnau-stiftung.de) in Wiesbaden.