Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1054415
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 NOVEMBER 2018 CULTURE ONE of the most beauti- fully articulated children's operas in the repertoire composed in the last cen- tury is GianCarlo Menot- ti's Amahl and the Night Visitors. This will take place at Teatru Manoel this weekend. This deceptively simple opera is all about a Christ- mas miracle wherein the birth of the Christ Child is implied and the mira- cle takes place during the voyage of the Three Kings to Betlehem. They are forced to take shelter in the very humble home of a widow and her crip- pled son Amahl and this is how the miracle happens in music 'that never fails to bring tears to my eyes ' said the artistic direc- tor of the Teatru Manoel, Kenneth Zammit Tabo- na, who has long had the dream of presenting this beautiful work of art at the theatre for many years and has finally managed to with the help of the well established Żigużajg Festival. Fresh from attending the annual Opera Europa conference in Paris, Zam- mit Tabona reiterated that the emphasis was put on the nurturing of young audiences and what bet- ter way is there to do this than to present young and young at heart audiences with accessible operas like this? Tickets can be bought from www.teatrumanoel. mt, bookings@teatru- manoel.mt or telephone number 2124 6389. GianCarlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Manoel A scene from the 1965 performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors on NBC ON Saturday 10 November, Heritage Malta officially inaugurated Malta's very own national-community art museum MUŻA; a €10 million invest- ment, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. MUŻA is also the flagship project for Vallet- ta's 2018 European Capital of Culture title which shall carry forward the legacy of this unique occasion. The chosen name MUŻA is an ac- ronym for MUŻew tal-Arti (Art Mu- seum) and also the Maltese word for inspiration, whereas the dot over the z (Ż) emphasizes the exclusive Mal- tese-alphabet character. The name relates also to the muses which were mythological creatures from classic antiquity inspiring crea- tivity. With a collection of well over 20,000 works of art, MUŻA seeks to present inspiring stories with which to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, particularly communities. Strategically located at the heart of Valletta, the two entrances of the building, one on Merchants Street and the other on Jean de Valette Square, shall attract people inside to wander freely within the main court- yard which is now a public space. MUŻA is also equipped with a caf- eteria and a dining room, a tourist in- formation office, and a concept store with quality products. Due to the international conference of the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) which was held at MUŻA from the 15th to the 18th of November, the museum was closed to the general public. This week, MUŻA will be the venue for a number of events as part of the Malhalla Festival held during every day of the week from 6pm onwards. Events include discussions, films and community projects. MUŻA shall be showing the works of international artists from various Mediterranean regions, some of whom have also pre- pared works in Malta. During the day, the museum will be closed in preparation for the evening event, however, the public is welcome to participate in this festival during the evening. The art galleries will not be acces- sible during the festival. MUŻA will open its doors perma- nently to the public on Saturday, 15th December, when Heritage Malta will be organising an Open Day from 10am to midnight with free entrance to all. From Sunday 16 December, MUŻA will be open as per Heritage Malta's museum hours, from 9am to 5pm (last entry at 4.30pm). More information is available at Heritage Malta's website www.herita- gemalta.org MUZA to open its doors to the public on 15 December