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15 CULTURE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 NOVEMBER 2018 The ladies in red and blue Tell us about your charac- ter D - Rosanne's mother is one hardworking, middle-class woman who takes a lot of pride in keeping her house, and her family in tip-top shape. She doesn't like breaking the rules and does everything by the book – as long as nothing and nobody touches her village fes- ta! She will then fight for blood and will easily slip into a hot argument with anyone who dares speak against her "Ma- donna tal-Warda" – let's face it – it is the primary Madonna (tat-titular!) after all! M.E - Mrs Catania is a passionate wom- an who puts her family and festa before everything else. She is fierce and very stubborn, especially when it comes to protecting what she loves most. She's not on good terms with her daughter-in-law and is still very disappointed in her belov- ed son's choice of a wife, but she dotes on her little granddaughter. Together with her sister Katya, she is a force to be reck- oned with and with the aid of her hus- band, she will let nothing get in the way of keeping the honourable traditions of her family. Her ambition is to keep triumph- ing over the Tal-Warda clan so that Il- Madonna tal-Katina remains, as always, the most revered Madonna – and the one with the best festa! R - Roseanne Rossi was brought up to love the local festa, loving everything red and anything related to roses as a young girl, but as she grew older her interests changed and the festivities were not as appealing to her as they were in her child- hood. Particularly so when she met Mario Catania, who stole her heart the second she made contact with his deep blue eyes. From that point on, Roseanne stopped seeing red, and started seeing a mixture of red and blue... violet perhaps? What drew you to this production? D - Operettas are always fun – and I feel very comfortable in them as the genre. But the winning ticket was definitely the fact that my favourite Maltese writer, Tre- vor Zahra penned it and one of my dear- est, most talented of musician friends, Al- exander Vella Gregory composed it. M.E - I have worked with Alex Vella Gregory before, premiering some of his work such as, Ċikku l-Poplu and singing excerpts from his song cycles for recitals and concerts. I am in love with the music he writes and so, auditioning for his first Operetta was a no-brainer. The fact that the script is written by one of my favourite Maltese authors and that I get to work with people I enjoy working with is a definite bonus! R - Convincing both families to let their love flourish was a feat within itself, but love conquers all, and Mario and Rose- anne would not let anything stand in the way of their love. 10 years down the line, they still choose to go with the flow, at least at face value, to keep both families happy, but at the end of the day, their pri- ority will always be to support each other, their love and their daughter. The con- cept of the story, a Romeo & Juliet with a Festa twist, was the initial appeal. The thought of it was too funny to just let such an opportunity pass by. Backing that were the facts that it is an operetta and that Te- atru Malta are the producers. It's a true honour to be working for them, and with such a great team that is behind this pro- duction. What makes this production some- thing the whole family can enjoy? D - Trevor Zahra wrote the script in very simple, everyday Maltese, which makes the script very light and accessible to peo- ple of all ages. The music is rich with a melody that is very quick to pick, with a very wise use of the traditional "banda" instruments, literally making the musical selections a 'festa' to the ears for both the connoisseur as well to those who do not believe themselves so vested in music. M.E - As everyone knows, Trevor's writ- ing is both clever and easy on the ear. His style is fluid and poetic with just the right amount of cheek thrown in, vividly por- traying characters to whom we can all relate in different ways. We might not be a perfect copy of one single character, but undoubtedly, audience members will be able to identify people they know (or themselves!) in all the characters. The music is, of course, exceptional and for me, as a classical singer used to pi- ano, ensemble or orchestral accompani- ment, singing with a banda is definitely a change. The conductor and musicians are doing an excellent job of doing justice to Alex's music. The cast is a conglomeration of people coming from different genres (classi- cal singers, pop singers and non-singing actors) and this mix makes things more interesting to us as performers as well as to the audience. I was pleasantly sur- prised at how good a team we make and I have such respect for the work that cast, chorus and musicians are putting in this project. R - This is a production about families, for families. It is very lighthearted and fun for all, reflecting on local traditions in a comical and satirical way. This is all en- riched with enticing music, as composed by Alex Vella Gregory, that not only re- flects the traditional festa music, but has all the elements an oper- etta should have. It is a true masterpiece. The show opens in a little under two weeks, what can audiences ex- pect? D- A vibrant perfor- mance with a lot of col- our, and joy! M.E - They had better buckle up, cause this will be one heck of a ride! We will take the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions. One thing is for sure, they will enjoy every minute! R - The audience can expect an hour and a half of laughter, and fun music, backed by an incredibly talented cast and band. The atmosphere we're creating is slight- ly different to what you'd expect from a normal theatrical performance, due to the atmosphere of the auditorium, having a traditional 'banda' instead of an orches- tra, and even the staging of the produc- tion, which is bringing us closer to the audience. I'd encourage the audience to choose a side, the reds – 'tal-warda', or the blues – 'tal-katina', and to participate as much as possible and supporting the families in their feast rivalries. To buy your 10 euro tickets for IL- MADONNA TIEGĦI AĦJAR MINN TIEGĦEK, an operetta made possible with the support of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, and The National Association of Band Clubs, visit www.teatrumalta.org.mt or call 21220255 The MaltaToday on Sunday sit down with Dorothy Baldacchino, Rachel Vella and Maria Eleonora Zammit, three of IL-MADONNA TIEGHI AHJAR MINN TIEGHEK's lead actresses, to tell us all about the show that's taking place between the 8th and 16th of December at the Parish Theatre in Birgu's Victory Square Flexi-Term Deposit Account Flexi-Term Deposit Account *Terms and conditions apply. The Bank reserves the right to amend or withdraw this product from the market at any time, at its sole and absolute discretion and without any prior notice. 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