The 16th edition Gaulitana: A Festival of Music returns in April, “as the month-long cultural bonanza transforms Gozo into an island of creativity,” the organisers said.
Events will be held in various localities around the island. International and local artists star in an eclectic mix of musical styles, from orchestral to chamber, vocal to instrumental, evening to lunchtime concerts.
Artist-in-Residence Alexander Frey leads the exciting array of artists with a lecture-recital on Cole Porter in his inimitable style loved by local buffs as well as an organ recital.
International chamber ensembles include the guitar duo Seis Cuerdas Dos (Italy), whose musicians have performed at Carnegie Hall, and the highly acclaimed Sapiace Duo (Austria). Piano aficionados are in for a treat as Chinese-Belgian Steinway Artist Tom De Beuckelaer gives a virtuoso recital and Michael Laus interprets an all-Beethoven concert on Easter Day.
Daria Aleshina and Marco Podestà team up in a 4-hand tribute to festival regular collaborator Giuseppe Fricelli who passed away recently.
The Gaulitanus Choir features in the opening concert on the 2nd of April together with soprano Andriana Yordanova and the Gaulitanus String Orchestra, as the latter closes the festival on the 1st of May alongside internationally-renowned German-Austrian musician Matthias Grendler, performing with his Guadagnini cello.
With the organisation aspiring to kindle creativity, educational events and an exhibition on folk music in Gozo curated by Anna Borg Cardona and Joseph Calleja run in parallel.
The festival’s highlight is the return of live opera, with Verdi’s La Traviata, [1] an intrinsic feature in the OPERA+ Weekend, bringing the festival to a climactic end.
The full-scale operatic production presents Francesco Meli, Ekaterina Bakanova and Piero Terranova in the main roles with stage direction entrusted once again to Enrico Castiglione.
The date to remember is the 29th of April, with the participation of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gaulitanus Choir under the baton of Colin Attard, the opera will be held at the Aurora under the distinguished patronage of the President.
Festival events are free of charge and no reservations are required. Booking for La Traviata is available by clicking here [2] or via the ticket helpline 7904 5779.
The full calendar of events can be accessed online. www.gaulitanus.com [3]
Photo by Gaulitana: The MPO performing at Gaulitana in 2022