Soprano Ekaterina Bakanova, the “mesmerising” artist, shot to stardom as “a stunning Violetta” after her spectacular last-minute Traviata debut in Covent Garden in July 2015. Her spellbinding “scintillating vocal power brought the house down” as “she made Violetta seem as if she was being created for the first time” (The Guardian). Since then, she has returned several times to Covent Garden and appeared on the most prestigious European stages including Verona’s Arena and Barcelona’s Teatro Liceo, where she performed under first-rate conductors amongst whom Fabio Luisi, Mung Whung Chung and Nello Santi, in productions of famous staging directors such as Franco Zeffirelli and Hugo de Ana.

Violetta’s lover, Alfredo, will be interpreted by Francesco Meli, one of the most sought-after tenors worldwide. Renowned for his Verdian roles, he has been billed “as probably the best Alfredo in terms of timbre and vocal expression”, with OperaClick defining him as an “authentic number one” for his Alfredo performance at La Scala. Meli had made his debut at the Milanese opera house at the age of just 23 under Riccardo Muti, a venue he himself considers “more a second home than a place of work “. Meli has sung leading roles on all the world’s other glorious stages, from the Metropolitan to Covent Garden and Vienna’s Staatsoper, under the world’s most eminent conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Antonio Pappano and Gustavo Dudamel. Gaulitana’s Traviata falls between his performances as Alfredo at Florence’s Maggio Musicale and the Zeffirelli production at Verona’s Arena.

The trio of principal singers is completed by highly-acclaimed Verdian baritone Piero Terranova. As Giorgio Germont, his interpretations have been praised as “monumental” and his characterization as “amazing”, and “confirmed by the thunderous applause” (Corriere dello Spettacolo). Having performed extensively in all major Italian opera houses, from La Scala to La Fenice, San Carlo, Bellini and the Massimo as well as having graced several important European stages like Berlin’s Deutsche Oper and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, he is the only singer so far to have appeared in an opera put on by Gozo’s three opera producers, most recently as the ”imposing, authoritative” Amonasro in Aurora’s Aida last October.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is recognized as Malta’s foremost musical institution. The orchestra was founded in April 1968, when musicians from the defunct “Commander-in-Chief” (C-in-C) orchestra of the Malta-based British Mediterranean Fleet regrouped as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. It continued to serve as the theatre’s resident orchestra until September 1997, when it became an independent orchestra, taking up the name National Orchestra of Malta. The orchestra became the MPO in 2008 when it expanded into a full-size symphony orchestra, bringing together the best of Maltese talent and musicians from Europe and beyond.

Joseph Sammut, the C-in-C’s last conductor, was the orchestra’s first conductor, remaining at the helm until 1992. Since then, the orchestra has also been under the direction of Joseph Vella, John Galea, Michael Laus, and Brian Schembri. In 2019, the MPO has appointed Sergey Smbatyan as Principal Conductor, joining Resident Conductor Michael Laus as part of the orchestra’s Artistic Team. The MPO also works with local and international guest conductors and soloists including Lawrence Renes, Michalis Economou, Guy Braunstein, Alexei Volodin, Camilla Tilling, Joseph Calleja, and Enrico Dindo.

As Malta’s leading musical ensemble, the MPO averages more than one performance a week including symphonic concerts, opera productions in Malta and Gozo, community outreach and educational initiatives, as well as various concerts of a lighter nature. The orchestra has performed in leading venues across the globe, including in the United States, Russia, Germany, Austria, China, Italy, and Belgium, and presently embarks on at least one international tour each concert season.

The MPO is a keen exponent of Maltese composers, regularly performing their works in Malta and overseas, as well as frequently premiering and commissioning new compositions.

Colin Attard, “is a familiar figure on the local music scene. His energy is as boundless and dynamic as his hair, and I know few local musicians who are as energetic as he is” (Albert Storace, The Sunday Times of Malta, 03/03/2014).

Born in 1962 in a highly musical family from Victoria, Gozo, inevitably, Attard grew up in a rather musical environment. He advanced musical studies under the tuition of his late uncle, Prof. Joseph Vella. Indeed, his artistic development and creative impulse were very much moulded within the parameters of his native Gozo – with a necessary corollary being versatility and pragmatism. In turn, he has been a key player in the development and promotion of Gozitan culture, crucially contributing to the revitalisation of its concert activity ever since becoming musically very active in the early 1980’s.

In 1990 he officially founded the Gaulitanus Choir, Gozo’s first unaffiliated choir. Contemporarily, he also first became associated with the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora and its parent organisation, the Leone Philharmonic Society, being appointed resident conductor in 1991. Aware of the constant need to keep up with change, he has been at the front in drifting away from the ubiquitous, tried-and-tested music, thus presenting contemporary, challenging and rather ‘unfamiliar’ classics as well as more trendy, popular music.

Yet, Attard is perhaps more widely known as a pivotal personality in Gozitan operatic productions in which he is not just the man behind the baton but also extensively involved in their organisation, besides doubling as choir master. Colin Attard remains a very proud Gozitan in heart, giving his all to further develop Gozo’s high-quality cultural programme and to enhance Gozo’s image as “an island of culture”.