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This week's Tuesday Concert features sopranos Marouska Attard and Bianca Simone accompanied by pianist Irina Fedcenko-Carbonaro.Take a peep at the atmosphere of a private 19th-century salon as we attempt to reconstruct the aura of the times. In the reception rooms of affluent families across Europe, it was customary to spend leisure time enjoying good music, often performed by the guests or the hosts themselves. The education of young ladies from well-to-do families always included adequate musical training, particularly in the study of the piano or harp, sometimes string instruments, but especially singing.
In these cultured gatherings, one could hear both easily accessible arias, requiring little effort to perform, and pieces drawn from famous operas. Renowned composers among them Bellini with “Vaga luna, che inargenti”. “Plaisir d’amour " by Martini, and Donizetti’s “La lontananza” willingly engaged with this repertoire of entertainment, achieving results of great musical and poetic charm.
Gioachino Rossini is undoubtedly one of the most representative composers of this Bel Canto period. His collection Soirées Musicales, published in 1835, is the crowning jewel of a rich production, where the vocal virtuosity required demonstrates that this repertoire was also frequented by professional musicians and provided an opportunity to display skill and vocal splendour.
In the same vein are the little-known but magnificent pieces by Pauline Viardot. Pauline, the daughter of the great vocal pedagogue Manuel García and younger sister of the celebrated singer Maria Malibran, who was herself an excellent mezzo-soprano and a skilled pianist. She often had the opportunity to perform with Chopin, who approved of her arrangements of some of his mazurkas and other compositions.
Organised by the Barocco Foundation, these popular lunchtime concerts bring recognition to established and emerging talent and offer a variety of repertoires. Do join us and enjoy the special acoustics of the church under its magnificent Alessio Erardi painted ceiling.
Reservations at €10 per person either by booking on [email protected] or directly at the entrance of the church.
A viewing of the 10 minute documentary ‘Grand Master de Valette and his first church of Valletta’ in our underground cinema is free of charge to all patrons.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Our Lady of Victory Church 1566, Our Lady of Victories Church, Triq Nofs in-Nhar, Valletta, VLT, Malta,Valletta, Malta
