The Malta Independent on Sunday
Tonight Teatru Manoel premieres Rossini’s opera Armida
Tonight is the first time in history that Giaochino Rossini’s opera ‘Armida’ will be staged in Malta at Teatru Manoel. This will be an original and exciting production for all opera, music and art lovers, and choosing to stage a lesser-known opera of Rossini will offer a unique and refreshing experience for both the performers and audience.
Although Armida is set during the First Crusade near Jerusalem, Director Paul Carr had no interest in doing a traditional operatic staging of this piece, so he took the theatre’s 130-year-old backdrops as a starting point and decided to set the whole story in present time at a private viewing of an art exhibition about the crusades, in a museum. Guests arriving at the museum are then transported into the love-story of Armida and Rinaldo, so they find themselves becoming the characters, and playing the roles – turning the exhibition into a fully immersive experience.
The lead roles will be performed by internationally renowned soprano Elisa Balbo, together with Nico Darmanin, Cliff Zammit Stevens, Anle Gou, Eduardo Hurtado Rampoldi and Albert Buttigieg. Together with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Moveo Dance Company and KorMalta, these incredible artists will take the audience on a voyage to a world of magic, love and betrayal.
We sat down with the three of the main artists in Armida who spoke to us about their journey through this opera. Soprano
Elisa Balbo explains how this is a very difficult opera but it is also a very beautiful journey for a soprano to be able to sing in the role or Armida.
Tenor Nico Darmanin says that Giaochino Rossini’s style is very demanding, where one needs to have a lot of experience to actually appreciate how difficult it is technically and where you actually have to dissect and study each note by itself. He explains that at those instances when there are a lot of notes intertwined, they symbolise the characters’ emotions. For Nico, who will be playing Rinaldo, the beginning of Act 1 finale is very powerful. He has a big dual scene where the music is very virile with powerful lines and super high notes.
Tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens speaks about Goffredo and Carlo, the two roles he’ll be playing in this opera. He says that the two characters are very different from each other and therefore they demand very different vocal techniques. The most powerful part in this opera for Cliff is when he comes back in Act 3 as Carlo, when he has to persuade Rinaldo to change his mind about Armida.
Armida, like so many other operas, is a tale of desire, love, and betrayal, and it was through these themes that Director Paul Carr decided to explore a broader sexuality, blurring or crossing over the lines between masculinity and femininity.
Conducted by Davide Levi, this opera is a true testament to Rossini’s genius, with its intricate vocal lines, breath-taking arias, and thrilling ensemble numbers. It showcases the composer’s ability to create music that is both technically demanding and emotionally resonant.
Adding to all this are the unique costumes designed by designer Luke Azzopardi and 19th century painted backdrops from Teatru Manoel’s own scenery archives, which were painted in Italy specifically for Malta’s National Theatre. production and to purchase tickets, visit www.teatrumanoel.mt.