“I went to my first performance”
I read Fiona Galea Debono’s editorial piece for Pink magazine, and asked her permission to reproduce it here. I really like it – it’s the first piece I have read on the subject which grasps the essence of what the Valletta theatre is all about, and that the sky and the surroundings are part of it, part of the experience. The tragedy of people who think the space should have been enclosed in four walls and a ceiling is that they lack the imagination to understand this. If they are at the theatre, they want to concentrate on the stage, so they might as well be in a Soviet concrete bunker. In any case, I was happy to read this and you might be, too.
I WENT TO MY FIRST PERFORMANCE
…at the much-maligned Pjazza Teatru Rjal on the ruins of the Royal Opera House at City Gate, Valletta… and I loved the venue… as I always knew I would.
It was a balmy evening, ideal weather – the type Malta is fortunate to experience quite a bit of – to be sitting under the stars, and not in some stuffy, or freezing air-conditioned venue, where you try to understand why you’re not enjoying the show until you realise it’s related to the uncomfortable climate.
One of the benefits of living in Malta is the ability to do it al fresco. It’s an asset we should take advantage of, whatever the event or occasion, and especially so if the outdoors environment is as evocative as this.
I’ve always enjoyed the open-air venue – even when it was a dusty jampacked car park that would undergo an overnight and temporary conversion into a theatre, surrounded by none other than more cars, a nondescript housing estate and some tacky shops beneath. With minimal effort and intervention, it already had so much potential back then.
I was running late for the Puerto Flamenco show – the opening event of the Malta Arts Festival – but stopped to do a double take when I dashed into the foyer to get my tickets. I didn’t know what to expect, and in the rush, I probably wasn’t expecting anything at all. So I was more than pleasantly surprised to see the holes in the ruins, which once housed cheap suitcase vendors, turned into a warmly illuminated entrance of raw stone, fit for a bombed-out Royal Opera House that has survived into 2013.
I then ascended the regal staircase from one of two sides to find that ‘useless’ roofless theatre unfold below. Granted, I hate the green chairs, but at that hour, the darkness and the fact that most of the audience was already seated meant I didn’t even notice them and could feast my eyes on the rest.
Through the perfectly positioned columns and the restored remains are illuminated glimpses of impressive architecture. St Catherine of Italy’s church is one of the backdrops to the left, while the majestic bastions of St James Cavalier have finally been exposed and can be viewed through the stilts that hold up Renzo Piano’s Parliament. What a pity they have been hidden for so long.
Further to the left, the eye-catching but not engulfing Parliament building itself, stealthily rising from the ashes, could have been another distraction to the show if it were not for the captivating and passionate flamenco movement and sound emanating from the stage ahead.
Behind is the spectacle of Palazzo Ferreria, which you barely notice by day; you would need to find yourself in the roofless theatre at night to experience its full glory…
The roof is just the stars and the moon… and probably the odd fireworks too. So how could the enveloping and swallowing walls of any theatre compare?
Having tourists, locals and children alike attempting to straddle the site’s boundary and stealing a peak of the show through the cracks out of curiosity is also charming and endearing, adding to the feeling that art has no boundaries; it is for all – even for those who don’t want to buy a ticket.
And on our way out, we followed a walkway over the restored ruins beneath the old opera house that were sure to feed any lingering, unsatisfied senses.
Pjazza Teatru Rjal is an all-encompassing art experience, with history and culture neatly rolled into it. It’s only those alien, green, plastic chairs that remain a mystery to me in the whole unique set-up…
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Nirreferi ghall-https://www.facebook.com/pages/BRIKKUNI/34271372500?hc_location=timeline
Wara tant tmaqdir ghal dan it-tejatru miftuh, issa qeghdin jitolbu Euro2,000 ghal kull-kirja (plus spejjez ohra). Vera wicchom u …. xorta.
Ghogobni hafna dan il-kumment.
Roderick Peresso: Kellimt lil William Mangion?
BRIKKUNI: William MAngion jista jmur jixxejjer. Ma nkellimx bidilli
Well, Mario Vella of Brikkuni had this to say on his FB wall after the election (I didn’t lift this off myself, but copying it from someone who did,
“.”Good riddance to bad rubbish. It has been a perverse pleasure watching the PN sinking slowly and painfully. Let’s hope they regroup, rid themselves of their unwarranted god complex and replace their sorry excuse for a leader and vice leader with individuals who will deliver some… See More much needed respite rather than spite. And Lejber…our eyes are on you. Switchers such as myself will be here to ask for your head in 5 year’s time should you fail to deliver on your promise of transparency and accountability.”
So frankly I’m not too sympathetic towards them. In any case, why should they get it for free?
The way he spoke today about ‘the elite’, makes one think we owe him that stage.
Who’s this wanker? If there’s one thing that puts people off, it’s ‘artists’ with a grudge.
Well, so true. I realise now that the reason my opinion of the place was at odds with that of its critics is because I took the integrated context for granted, whereas the critics did not.
Thank you Daphne and thank Ms. Galea Debono.
I remember when Renzo Piano presented his project. The way he talked about and his explanation made me eager to see his work of art finished for all to see and enjoy.
I do hope that nothing will be done to tarnish such a grandiose project.
What a refreshing read from Ms Galea Debono as opposed to the convoluted Times of Malta article Kenneth Zammit Tabona wrote, trying his best to steal a chuckle from his readers.
But then when one sells his soul, there isn’t much beauty left, is there? Ask Dr. Faust.
Kitten (but equally many Maltese) simply cannot see past the conventional, the tried and tested. Within the PL has he found his natural home: ultra-conservative and backward-looking.
Does anyone expect him to understand the mastery of artists like Piano? These live at the cutting edge, taking mankind one step forward through their work.
Kitten’s own work is all about regression and false nostalgia.
Well done Fiona Galea Debono, and thanks Daphne for bringing it to my/our attention. This is what I call positive thinking and attitude.
It is so much different from the ‘positivity’ argued by politicians which then turns out to be more negative than the situation they claim to change.
Excellent article. It captures very well the beauty of performances al fresco. The remarkable architecture around the opera house are complimentary to, and even enhance, a good concert.
There are two arguments that have not been made yet in this never-ending discussion.
First, creating a closed theatre on the opera house site would have required air-conditioning. Its use in the summer would have meant massive energy use and increased carbon footprint. Supposedly green-minded people like Astrid Vella failed to notice this. They are too myopic and/or driven by hidden agendas. They speak about energy use only when it suits them
Second, we already have two closed theatres (MCC and Manoel Theatre) which remain unused during the summer. A new theatre on the opera house site risked eventually being also unused in the summer. The result would have been three (underutilised) theatres in the winter and no proper performance space in the summer.
Pity that at two grand a performance, the environment may not be stuffy, but the programme sure as hell will be.
While Christmas shopping last year, we went to have a look while the national orchestra playing pieces by David Guetta and others. The audience, mainly young tourists, were having a brilliant time as was my family. This was December.
Jahasra don’t tell Astrid or the Kitten. Because you know, how could they have enjoyed themselves with all those aeroplanes flying up above?
As if Valletta is on any flight path. Debunking these idiots, one myth at a time.
The theatre’s passing its test with flying colours, people like it, and will return.
Not Mario Vella of Brikkuni. He’s off in a huff. Bad attitude.
Our thanks to Dr. Gonzi for persisting with these projects when faced with constant sneering, downgrading and disloyal opposition. What amazes me is that no architect who supports Labour ever said anything in favour of these projects.
What is telling is that none of them said anything against them.
I enjoyed the piece.
At least there is still a sane and mature commentator/journalist, which has become an endangered species.
Th kitten seems to be getting moe and more attention, see the last paragraph here: http://melahart.com/pjazza-teatru-rjal-an-unkept-promise/
I fully concur with what Ms Galea Debono wrote and I was so enthralled watching the show, as was my 10 year old daughter.
I just can’t fathom watching the performance in an enclosed space. The venue was perfect.
There was only one thing which irked me, and it was a lady usher, who besides being inappropriately dressed for the event, kept clicking her wooden wedges up and down the steps, and she wasn’t part of the flamenco show.
Thanks to Fiona Galea Debono’s account, it’s like I too have been to my first performance at the Piazza Teatru Rjal.
I believe that her account reveals that Piano’s project was intended so that the patrons’ attention can be directed onto the surrounding heritage and history, and not onto the dress, makeup and bowtie of those who think they are the cultural elite of the country.
Brilliant piece by Fiona. Like all Nationalist government initiatives the Piano project was politicized, this being orchestrated by our own home-grown ‘genius’ and his fellow travellers.
Kenneth, let your anger at your failure to get your own way subside before attempting to enter Valletta by the main entrance once again. The cooling off period may allow you to come to terms with yourself, uplift your spirit and start to appreciate the genius that is Piano.
I have absolutely no time for self-appointed arbiters/protectors of good taste, culture and the environment, like Astrid Vella and Kenneth Zammit Tabona.
When enough time has passed and events have proved them wrong, I am sure that they and their organisations would be in the forefront in the defense of these iconic projects that they now so loudly criticize.
This has happened before when the Tal-Karmnu church dome was being built in the late 60s/early 70s, and in that case the concerns about the scale and impact on the Valletta skyline had some legitimacy. Yet today the same dome so vilified at the time is an icon of Valletta, whether one likes it or not.
Spot on.
As for those peeking in, they could enjoy a bit of the show without the Government taking public funds as it did for the Joseph Calleja concert, in yet another populist move.
Xi punti li xtaqt nikkjarifika
1. Brikkuni QATT ma riedu jew hadu xejn free, Ahna whud mil-ftit nies li ghandna x-xorti nkunu self sufficient ghax nemmnu li ma jezistux ‘free lunches’. IMKIEN
2. L-ilment tiegh kien jirrigwarda n-nuqqas ta vizjoni fl-ewwel dewqa li kelli tat-tregija. Teatru bhall dak (li lili DEJJEM ghogobni tant li QATT ma inghaqadt mal-brigata li kienet kontinwament tghid li huwa ikrah u inutli) jirrikjedi skaletta ta prezzijiet sabiex ikunu jistghu jigu akkomodatai produzzjoni kemm kummercjali u ohrajn izjed ta’ nicca li mhux ser jigbdulek daqstant nies (mhux neccessarjament ghax il-kwalita tkun fqira izda ghax f’pajjiz ta 400 elf ruh ma tistghax tippetendi udjenzi ta eluf ghal hwejjeg kemmxejn raffinati (il-percentwali huma pro rata ghal kull pajjiz
3. b’dan mhux qieghed nghid li ahna grupp ta nicca estrema. Ahna bejn wiehed u iehor ahna il-hamesl-ikbar grupp fil-pajjiz f’termini ta biljetti mibjugha (li jfisser li nbieghu madwar 500 iljett ghal kull kuncert. Cifra li tinstema ridikola pero emmnuni dawk hafna ghal pajjiz ta 400K) Jigifieri huwa ridikolu li banda f’din il-faxxa ma tistghax taffordja li taccedi ghal tali spazju
4. Ahna ma nfittxux sponsor ghax ma nemmnux li ghandna nbieghu xi haga ohra hlief il-muzika. Ghandna obbligi lejn l-ammiraturi taghna u lejn il-lirika tal-kanzunetti taghna (jew ahjar tieghi)Minn dejjem iddizgustatni id-dinja konsumerista li nghix fiha u mhux lest nipprostitwixxi fehemti f’gieh l-zijed haga li nhobb f’hajjti (bizzejjed nipprostitwixxi ruhi biex semplicement nghix)
5. Jien ilni nimmilita sentejn nipproponi soluzzjoni irhas li jistghu jevitaw tali sitwazzjonijiet imbarazzanti (fosthom inqas burorazija zejdamil-pulizija meta tapplika sabiex tuza spazju pubbliku. Strutturi MA JEZISTUX. Ghanda xi 5 Amfiteatri li jiswew bagatella liria li ma jista jaccedi ghalihom hadd u jekk tipprova taccedi ghalihom, u ma jkollokx il-konoxxenza ta xi bidillu setghan, demmek igibuhulek ilma
6. Ghandi kuntent li l-PN qala damdima. Ma nhallatx il-hass mal-bass. M’ghandi bzonn l-empatija ta hadd.
Grazzi hafna
Jgri x’jigri il-post ser jitlef madwar mitt elf euro fis-sena. Tant hi kbira il-manutenzjoni tieghu. U taf xhiex? MA JIMPURTAX.
Ghax il-kultura mihiex b’xejn u galadarba jinstabu l-flejjes ghal futbol (li minnu sodisfazzjon qatt ma hadna) ghandom jinstabu ghal kultura wkoll.
L-isbah haga li t-teatru jopera kull meta jista. Anke profit ta’ 500 euro ahjar minn gurnata maghluq minghajr profit.
Issa fil-kaz taghna it-teatru jista jaghmel izjed minn hekk. Pero banda ta’ 10 min nies trid taghmel profit ta’ €1500 (mill-inqas) BILFORS biex tkampa.
Iz-zminijiet li wiehed jiddetta u l-iehor ihallas spiccaw. Wiehed irid ipoggi u jahdem skond ic-cifri disponibbli. Ic-cifri li provdejna ahna huma realsitici u bi ftit rieda jistghu jigu akkomodati.
Biz-zewg partijiet jaghmlu l-profitt taghhom. Jekk tridu izjed dettalji ta’ logitika iccekkjaw il-profil tieghi fuq Facebook. Hemm kollox. Sa l-icken dettal. Ilni sitt snin inkampa ghal rasi u naf x’jien nghid u x’jien naghmel.
U din li tpoggu kulhadd f’keffa ta PL u PN f’KULL argument tridu taqtawh. IKBRU FTIT.
Jien PL ivvutajt u l-progett tal-Belt Valletta joghogobni hafna. Il-kxaxen f’mohhkom qieghdin …..u fil-qalb hazina tal-mostri li tippropagaw bil-fanatizmu politiku taghkom.
Tal-ahhar: stajt mort ghand xi Herrera jew xi Alla iehor kieku ridt. Offrewli u RRIFJUTAJT ghax ma nemminx li politici ser isolvu l-problemi ta’ infrastruttura li ghandna.
Bghattom jixxejjru bhalma bghatt lil-William MAngion jixxejjer. Minflok komplejt niddiskuti mal-proxxmi li qieghdin jippruvaw jaghmlu bicca xoghol tajba fil-kariga rispettiva taghhom.
Sfortunatment kultant il-burokrazija tahem kontrihom ukoll. Fl-ahhar mill-ahhar dejjem hemm xi accountant inutli li jridu jirrispondu ghalih.