The 10th edition of the BOV Opera Festival will kick off on the 18th of March at Teatru Manoel.

During a press conference, Bank of Valletta CEO Tonio Depasquale presented the Bank’s official sponsorship for the 2009 Opera Festival to Teatru Manoel Chairman, Peter Fenech.

‘The BOV Opera Festival is celebrating an important milestone this year, ten years of unbroken tradition of opera with a programme that appeals to all ages. Throughout these years the event has become an integral part of the cultural and operatic calendar of Teatru Manoel’, explained Dr. Fenech.

French Opera Company ARCAL will be bringing their acclaimed stage-production of Vaughan Williams’ ‘Riders to the Sea’ and a special performance of Milhaud’s ‘Le Pauvre Matelot’. Mozart’s highly celebrated opera, ‘The Magic Flute’, will be directed by Miriam Gauci, featuring an entirely Maltese cast, and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mro Michael Laus.

The 20th to the 23rd of March will see the performance of ‘Le Pauvre Matelot’ (The Poor Sailor), a three act opera composed by Darius Milhaud, to the libretto of Jean Cocteau. Be it misadventure or tragedy, the story of ‘Le Pauvre Matelot’ has a bitter twist.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ brings the 10th edition of the Opera Festival to a close, with performances on the 24th and 25th March.

Since its premiere, ‘The Magic Flute’ has always been one of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire. Composed in 1791 and premiered that September, the huge success of this opera lifted the composer’s spirit in the last months of his life, before his untimely death in December 1791.

Information about the BOV Opera Festival may be obtained from the website www.bov.com and www.teatrumanoel.com.mt.

Bookings may be affected through bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt.