Opera houses in Gozo
There are two opera houses on the Maltese island of Gozo , the Teatru Astra and the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora with a total of 2700 to 3000 seats, both in the capital Victoria . With an area of 67 km² and a population of just over 30,000 (6,000 of them in Victoria), Gozo has the highest density of opera houses in the world.
background
For generations there has been a pronounced rivalry in Victoria between the two (Catholic) parishes of the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Basilica of San Ġorġ , comparable to that between two football clubs elsewhere. Both have not only their own church choir, but also their own music association (St. Mary's Cathedral, the Soċjetà Filarmonika Leone , the St. George's Basilica, the Soċjetà Filarmonika La Stella , both founded around 1863). In the course of the year they compete for the most magnificent floral decorations on the feast day of the respective church patron or the longest and loudest fireworks.
Most of Gozo's residents belong to one of the two parishes. Open cooperation with the “other side” is often viewed almost as a betrayal; in 1976 z. B. a religious procession by members of the other community even pelted with bottles.
The two opera houses
The Teatru Astra
The Teatru Astra belongs to the Soċjetà Filarmonika La Stella and was inaugurated on January 13, 1968. The house on Triq ir-Repubblika (Republic Street) ( ⊙ ) offers space for up to 1,200 spectators, which roughly corresponds to the capacity of the Theater an der Wien (according to other sources, there are even 1,400 seats). The parquet rises slightly towards the rear. On the side walls of the auditorium there are two tiers with boxes , on the back wall at the level of the upper tier there is a balcony with several rows of seats. There is an orchestra pit in front of the stage. The Astra also has various changing and rehearsal rooms .
A portico is in front of the street-side facade of the building .
On November 8, 2003 the Astra was badly damaged by fire, which is why the performance of Tosca had to be relocated to a hotel on the neighboring island of Malta the following year . Instead of just repairing the damage, the fire was used as an opportunity for a comprehensive renovation, which was completed in September 2006.
The Teatru tal-Opra Aurora
The Teatru tal-Opra Aurora , which is only about two hundred meters from the Astra on the same street ( ⊙ ), is operated by Soċjetà Filarmonika Leone . It was built in 1971–1976 to designs by Emvin Cremona on the plans of an early nineteenth century villa. According to its own information, the theater offers space for up to 1,500 spectators (according to other sources up to 1,600). In addition to the seats in the stalls, it has three tiers with boxes (the lowest only along the side walls) and a gallery in the top tier. The color of the hall lighting can be changed depending on the desired mood. Above the stage, a little to the left, there is a painting of the name of the theater .
The stage has a base area of 12 × 10 meters with a clearance height of 6 meters (plus 5 meters of the upper stage ). The 1.5 meter deep orchestra pit offers space for 60 orchestra musicians. The Aurora also has changing and rehearsal rooms, some of which are equipped with showers.
Furthermore, since 1995 the Aurora has had a smaller hall on the third floor with a capacity of 200 seats or standing room for 300 people. The hall of April 29, 1956 is used for conferences, song recitals or as a rehearsal room. Its name refers to the date on which the Soċjetà Filarmonika Leone donated a life-size statue of Mary , the Mother of God , to the Cathedral of Mary . This statue (made in Rome in 1897) usually stands in the north aisle of the cathedral. Once a year, on August 15th ( Assumption of the Virgin Mary ), she is carried in a solemn procession through the streets of Victoria. There is a copy of this statue of the Virgin Mary in a niche in the foyer of the Aurora .
The facade of the Aurora is adorned by two other statues depicting Gorg Tabone (1841–1916) and Dirjanu Lanzon (1820–1894), two of the co-founders of the Soċjetà Filarmonika Leone .
The house was opened on October 9, 1976 with a symphony concert by the Leone Band.
Own opera productions
Although the ensembles of the two Philharmonic Societies are more like marching bands , the Astra and the Aurora are best known for their opera productions, which are shown every October every few days. Due to the limited size of the potential audience, each production is only performed once or twice. After the Teatru Aurora had staged an opera for the first time in 1977 with Madama Butterfly (back then in January), the Teatru Astra countered in 1978 with Rigoletto . Since then, each of the two houses has produced its own opera production every year, with mostly Italian operas on the program. Most of the tasks, from choir singers to stage and costume designers to ticket sales, are carried out by volunteers from the respective community. The choir is largely identical to the church choir of the associated church. For most of the larger solo roles, however, singers from abroad are hired, which each time makes up the largest part of the production costs (here, too, the two houses vie for who can hire the internationally best-known singers). Soloists who have already performed in Victoria include Daniela Dessì , Gena Dimitrowa , Éva Marton and Nino Matschaidse .
Occasionally, however, the performances in Victoria also serve as a career start for Maltese singers - for example, the tenor Joseph Calleja made his operatic debut in 1997 at the age of 19 as Macduff in Macbeth on the stage of the Teatru Astra .
The orchestra for these opera performances is the same in both houses, namely the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra - but each with its own conductor. At the Aurora it has been Colin Attard since 1991, while the Astra was held by his uncle Joseph Vella , the former chief conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra , for over forty years .
Due to the mutual rivalry, there is no agreement as to who will perform which opera in which year. In 1999 this led to Aida being shown in both houses . The competition between the two theaters finally culminated in the question of whose production would have the most horses. When the people in charge of the Teatru Aurora heard rumors that their competitors in the Astra wanted to bring a live horse to the stage in their Aida , they secretly procured two horses.
In 2017, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary , the Aurora presented a new edition of the then premiere opera Madama Butterfly , in addition to the traditional opera production in autumn.
| year | Teatru Aurora | Teatru Astra |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | La Traviata | La bohème |
| 2016 | Carmen | Aida |
| 2017 | Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci | Lucia di Lammermoor |
| 2018 | Tosca | La Traviata |
| 2019 | La bohème | Il trovatore |
| 2020 |
|
|
Other use
Throughout the year, the two houses serve as a clubhouse and rehearsal location for the respective Philharmonic Society and its brass band.
In addition to the opera staging with the MPO in autumn, concerts and stage works from other disciplines are also staged in both houses, primarily with the in-house band, but also foreign productions. In the Astra, for example, already Raffaella Carra , Al Bano and Romina Power , The Platters , Bobby Solo , Osibisa , Amedeo Minghi or different ballet companies on. The Astra in particular has also shown musicals in spring in recent years , namely Grease (2016), Evita (2017), Jesus Christ Superstar (2018) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2019).
In addition to other locations, the Aurora also serves as the venue for the Gaulitana Festival of Music, which has been taking place every spring since 2007 and has lasted almost a month . This festival is organized and co-designed by the Gaulitanus Choir , which was founded in 1990 by Aurora conductor Colin Attard. It is the only choir in Gozo that is not officially assigned to a parish or theater. In 2018, for example, the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini was performed at the Aurora festival . In 2019, Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini was on the program. The performance of Otello planned for 2020 had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Both the Astra and the Aurora used to be used as a cinema, but this was unprofitable given the size of the houses. The projectors in the Aurora were therefore expanded and are now only used as decorations in the foyer. In the Astra , the possibility of a film showing was retained even after the renovation in 2004/2005.
On the ground floor of both houses there is a bar where members of the respective parish meet, among other things, to watch football broadcasts and to play billiards or bingo .
TV documentary
The German director Claus Wischmann produced a documentary in 2016 with the title Gozo - One Island, Two Operas . was shown on Arte and on NDR . The 53-minute film was recognized as the best documentary film at the 2016 Golden Prague Festival .
Web links
- Website of the Teatru Astra
- Website of the Teatru Aurora
- Gozo - One Island, Two Operas on YouTube
- Giuseppe Verdi - Triumphal March from "Aida" (with two horses) in the Teatru Aurora (October 1999) on Facebook
- Giacomo Puccini - Turandot in the Teatru Aurora (October 2002) on Facebook
- Giuseppe Verdi - Nabucco in the Teatru Astra (October 2014) on YouTube
- Karin Finkenzeller: The Opera War on www.zeit.de , October 21, 2004
- Todd Buell: Rivalry, Drama, Betrayal — and the Opera Hasn't Even Started Yet on www.wsj.com , December 6, 2016
Individual evidence
- ^ Jan-Christoph Kitzler: The opera competition on Gozo on www.deutschlandfunk.de , December 13, 2013
- ↑ a b c d e f g Karin Finkenzeller: The Opera War on www.zeit.de , October 21, 2004
- ^ A b Todd Buell: Rivalry, Drama, Betrayal — and the Opera Hasn't Even Started Yet at www.wsj.com , December 6, 2016
- ↑ a b c Astra Theater at www.cinematreasures.org
- ↑ Astra Theater restored on timesofmalta.com , September 13, 2006
- ↑ a b c d Theater Specifications on teatruaurora.com
- ↑ a b c Aurora Opera House at www.cinematreasures.org
- ^ Room of April 29, 1956 on teatruaurora.com
- ↑ a b c d About at www.teatruastra.org.mt
- ↑ Puccini's Turandot to be performed at Aurora on timesofmalta.com , September 4, 2002
- ↑ World-class star to head cast in La Bohème in Gozo on timesofmalta.com , October 16, 2019
- ↑ Caroline Curmi: “I am sooo happy!” Georgian opera star Nino Machaidze dazzles opera fans in Gozo on www.guidemalta.com, October 14, 2019
- ↑ Biography on josephcalleja.com
- ↑ Astra Theater restored on timesofmalta.com , September 13, 2006
- ↑ Stefan Schickhaus: Europa-Kulturtage: Insel der Flexiblen on www.fr.de , October 20, 2015
- ^ Opera in Gozo, 40 years at the Aurora on teatruaurora.co, January 7, 2017
- ↑ Past Events on www.maltaorchestra.com
- ↑ A tentative reopening for the Aurora Theater on timesofmalta.com , July 12, 2020
- ↑ Aida postponed to 2021 on teatruaurora.com
- ↑ US Embassy and Teatru Astra present the stage production of the musical Grease on the website of the US Embassy in Malta
- ↑ Coryse Borg: Less than a month to go for Teatru Astra's fourth live musical on newsbook.com.mt, March 15, 2019
- ↑ Website of the Gaulitanus Choir
- ↑ Gaulitana festival to end with opera weekend on timesofmalta.com , April 25, 2018
- ↑ Gaulitana: A Festival of Music 2019 - Program of Events at www.gaulitanus.com, February 19, 2019
- ↑ Top Desdemona to complement the cast for the opera Otello in Gozo on www.gaulitanus.com, February 22, 2020
- ^ Gozo - One island, two operas on programm.ard.de
- ^ Gozo - One island, two operas on www.ndr.de
- ↑ Sarah Carabott: Acclaimed documentary sings the praises of Gozo on timesofmalta.com , October 13, 2016