Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (Maltese
: Orkestra Filarmonika Nazzjonali) is the national symphony orchestra of Malta
. It was founded in 1968 and was originally known as the Manoel Theatre
Orchestra, where it was in residence for both opera
productions and orchestral concerts. In September 1997 the orchestra became an independent body and was officially named as Malta's national orchestra. Its current Music Director
is Michael Laus.
in the employment of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy (Malta), better known as the C-in-C Orchestra that had been disbanded one day earlier. As the orchestra in residence at the Manoel Theatre, it regularly performed operas and symphonic concerts under the direction of its resident conductors
Joseph Sammut (1968-1992) and Michael Laus (1992-1997).
In September 1997 the orchestra became an independent body and was officially named The National Orchestra of Malta. Its first resident conductor was Joseph Vella. Ten years later, in December 2007, the orchestra was expanded to a full-size symphony orchestra and performed for the first time as The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra on January 12, 2008 on the occasion of Malta's entry into the Eurozone
.
Starting in January 2005, co-operation programmes with foreign orchestras were initiated. These have led to various learning and cultural exchanges with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Pesaro, Orchestra e Coro di Milano La Verdi, Orchestra e Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, and others.
The orchestra toured for the first time, in its previous form as a chamber orchestra, during the 2001-02 season. In Belgium
the orchestra performed at the City Hall in Brussels
under the direction of Michael Laus, who is still its resident conductor, while in Sicily
it took part in a five-performance production of Mozart's Così fan tutte
in Palermo
. In June 2003, the National Orchestra participated in the production of Leonard Bernstein
's Candide
at Rome
's Teatro Argentina
, followed by a concert in the ruins of the Villa Adriana in Tivoli
. Further concert tours followed, namely, a joint venture with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra in Brno
in 2006, in Pesaro
in 2007, and in Lugano
and Zaragoza
in 2008.
, Ghena Dimitrova
, Miriam Gauci
, Joseph Calleja
, Andrea Bocelli
, José Carreras
, Kate Aldrich
, Daniela Dessi
, and Lydia Caruana
. It is also a leading exponent of Maltese composers with the ambition to promote Maltese compositions and to make them known to a wider international audience. The orchestra's extensive calendar of events consists mainly of symphonic concerts at the Manoel Theatre
, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and other venues, as well as opera productions in Malta
and Gozo
and abroad. The orchestra also ventures into the light popular repertoire with dedicated concerts scheduled during the spring/summer months. It has education programmes for children, involving them in workshops and creative talks on topics that cover the whole spectrum of music-making.
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
: Orkestra Filarmonika Nazzjonali) is the national symphony orchestra of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It was founded in 1968 and was originally known as the Manoel Theatre
Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre is reputed to be Europe's third-oldest working theatre, and the oldest working theatre in the Commonwealth of Nations...
Orchestra, where it was in residence for both opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
productions and orchestral concerts. In September 1997 the orchestra became an independent body and was officially named as Malta's national orchestra. Its current Music Director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
is Michael Laus.
History
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was founded on April 1, 1968 and was originally known as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. It was composed of a number of musicians who had previously formed part of a chamber orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in the employment of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy (Malta), better known as the C-in-C Orchestra that had been disbanded one day earlier. As the orchestra in residence at the Manoel Theatre, it regularly performed operas and symphonic concerts under the direction of its resident conductors
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Joseph Sammut (1968-1992) and Michael Laus (1992-1997).
In September 1997 the orchestra became an independent body and was officially named The National Orchestra of Malta. Its first resident conductor was Joseph Vella. Ten years later, in December 2007, the orchestra was expanded to a full-size symphony orchestra and performed for the first time as The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra on January 12, 2008 on the occasion of Malta's entry into the Eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
.
Starting in January 2005, co-operation programmes with foreign orchestras were initiated. These have led to various learning and cultural exchanges with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Brno, the Czech Republic. Its predecessor was the Czech Symphony Orchestra, dating from the 1870's. The current Brno Philharmonic was formed in 1956 with the merger of the Radio Orchestra and the Brno Region Symphony Orchestra, with Břetislav...
, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Pesaro, Orchestra e Coro di Milano La Verdi, Orchestra e Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, and others.
The orchestra toured for the first time, in its previous form as a chamber orchestra, during the 2001-02 season. In Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
the orchestra performed at the City Hall in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
under the direction of Michael Laus, who is still its resident conductor, while in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
it took part in a five-performance production of Mozart's Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. In June 2003, the National Orchestra participated in the production of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's Candide
Candide (operetta)
Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Teatro Argentina
Teatro Argentina
The Teatro Argentina is an opera house and theatre located in the Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. It is one of the oldest theatres in Rome, and was inaugurated on January 31, 1732 with Berenice by Domenico Sarro....
, followed by a concert in the ruins of the Villa Adriana in Tivoli
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
. Further concert tours followed, namely, a joint venture with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in 2006, in Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
in 2007, and in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
and Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
in 2008.
Activities
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has performed with distinguished conductors and musicians in both concerts and operas. Soloists who have performed with the orchestra include Cecilia GasdiaCecilia Gasdia
-Biography:Cecilia Gasdia studied music and piano at the Conservatorio di Verona, graduating in 1980. That same year she won the first prize in the "New Voices for Opera" competition dedicated to Maria Callas...
, Ghena Dimitrova
Ghena Dimitrova
Ghena Dimitrova was a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Her voice was known for its power and extension used in operatic roles such as Turandot in a career spanning four decades.-Early career:...
, Miriam Gauci
Miriam Gauci
Miriam Gauci is a Maltese operatic soprano, particularly associated with lyric Italian roles.- Life and career :Born in Malta, where she began her voice training, she completed her studies in the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi of Milan, Italy...
, Joseph Calleja
Joseph Calleja
Joseph Calleja, , is a Maltese tenor. He began singing at the age of 16 and, having been discovered by Paul Asciak, continued his studies with him. At 19, he made his operatic debut as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at Astra Theatre in Gozo and went on to become a prize winner at the Belvedere Hans...
, Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
, José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
, Kate Aldrich
Kate Aldrich
Kate Aldrich is an American mezzo soprano.She has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Hamburg State Opera, Teatro Regio of Torino, Los Angeles Opera, L'Opéra de Montréal, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Teatro Nacional de São...
, Daniela Dessi
Daniela Dessì
Daniela Dessì Born May 14, 1957, in Genoa, Italy is an Italian lirico-spinto soprano.Daniela Dessì completed her singing studies at the Conservatory of Parma and the Accademia Chigiana of Siena. After having won the first prize at the International Competition organized by RAI TV in 1980, she had...
, and Lydia Caruana
Lydia Caruana
Lydia Caruana is a Maltese operatic soprano who performs in the opera houses and concert halls of Europe and her native Malta. She has sung in two rarely performed operas by Maltese composers, Carmelo Pace's I martiri and Nicolo Isouard's Jeannot et Colin.-Biography:Lydia Caruana was born in Malta,...
. It is also a leading exponent of Maltese composers with the ambition to promote Maltese compositions and to make them known to a wider international audience. The orchestra's extensive calendar of events consists mainly of symphonic concerts at the Manoel Theatre
Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre is reputed to be Europe's third-oldest working theatre, and the oldest working theatre in the Commonwealth of Nations...
, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and other venues, as well as opera productions in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and Gozo
Gozo
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
and abroad. The orchestra also ventures into the light popular repertoire with dedicated concerts scheduled during the spring/summer months. It has education programmes for children, involving them in workshops and creative talks on topics that cover the whole spectrum of music-making.