Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1088108
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2019 THEATRE REHEARSALS of Apotheosis are currently ongoing, as actor Angele Galea takes on the formidable role of Dolores, a former Maltese Prime Minister in the process of writing her memoirs, which threaten to bring down the political establishment. The play is an exciting, thought-provoking and innovative theatre piece written by Brit- ish-American theatre director and teacher John Baraldi. It is an exploration of contemporary Mal- tese political, and social themes. Performances of Apotheosis will take place at Spazju Kreattiv in March, and the run of the show includes fringe events with an in- tensive three-day theatre workshop on from 15 to 17 March, together with a series of post-show talks. Theatre practitioners and the general pub- lic are encouraged to attend. The intensive workshop will be led by Baraldi himself and will be a practical explo- ration of ways to make theatre that reflects the world, the ideas, and skills of the partici- pants. It will give the participants insight into ide- as that will both empower and inspire them and potential audiences. The workshop is limited to 12 participants aged 18 to 24. Preference will be given to fe- males, as the focus of the workshop will re- late to the ideas of Apotheosis – the absence of female participation in political life and the role of women in Maltese society. The workshops will take place in Studio A, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta on Friday 15 March from 6pm to 10pm; Saturday 16 March from 10am to 10pm; and Sunday 17 March from 10am to 6pm; and from 8pm to 10pm for the performance and an after-show talk. The fee for the weekend is €50 – includ- ing the tickets to see Apotheosis on Sunday night. It is important to note that participants need to commit to the entire weekend. Potential applicants should send an email explaining why they want to join, as well as an introduction about themselves, to 2mo- zarts@gmail.com by 4 March 2019. The producers are also organising a series of post-show talks by Thea Rees – President of Soroptimists International Malta. These talks will be held on 7 (including a drinks re- ception), 8, 13, 14, 15, and 17 March. These talks will tackle the many contro- versial and topical themes raised in the play. The speakers include leading academics, ac- tivists, and experts on gender equality; while Baraldi, Galea, director Marc Cabourdin and co-producer Annalisa Schembri will talk about the creative side of the play. Apotheosis will be performed at Spazju Kreattiv from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 March and Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 March at 8pm; with a matinee performance on Wednesday 13 March at 2pm. Ticket prices start at €10. For bookings visit www.kreattivita.org/en/ event/apotheose/ The outreach and education programme of this project has been funded by the Small In- itiatives Support Scheme (SIS), managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS). An intensive three-day workshop and a series of post-show talks are planned to further the discussion on the myriad themes raised in this exciting new piece Apotheosis producers present a series of events for young theatre audiences A brand new production of Mozart's Così fan tutte will premiere at Teatru Manoel tomorrow. With Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti, the Ma- noel Theatre concludes the brilliant opera trilogy of Le Nozze Di Figaro (produced in 2017) and Don Giovanni (produced in 2018) result- ing from the collaboration between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Loren- zo Da Ponte. The opera features a stellar cast of top local and foreign opera singers: Christian Bow- ers as Guglielmo, Paul Put- nins as Don Alfonso, Claire Debono as Despina, Jazmin Black Grollemund as Fiordil- igi, Helen Sherman as Dora- bella and Nico Darmanin as Ferrando. Accompanied by The Malta Philharmonic Or- chestra, directed by the re- nowned Philip Walsh. Artistic Director Kenneth Zammit Tabona said that Through Jack, Manoel Thea- tre had introduced a more cutting-edge type of operatic production than people were used to during these last few years. "With more or less the same casts give or take a few, the three Mozart-Da Pontes have changed public perception of how local opera can be pro- duced and I am very happy to be part of an initiative that makes such an incredibly beautiful genre relevant and meaningful to a 21st century audience," he said. This Così fan tutte will again be a daring and exciting production with Jack Furness as director and designer who cleverly captures all elements of this most popular opera. The story and staging Furness said that what is re- markable about the collabo- ration between Mozart and his librettist Da Ponte across three operas is how fiercely honest they were about the relationship between sex and power. This is something that is still massively with us today. Da Ponte and Mozart are En- lightenment artists, reorgan- ising society on more rational grounds and we are still liv- ing with the effects of that reorganisation," he said. "There are still people that abuse positions of power for sexual conquest. And there are still all these things that Mozart and Da Ponte are writing about: abusive re- lationships, infidelity, peo- ple who kind of let go of all moral compasses and spiral into a place of psycho-sexual depravity." To stage this one has to find a way of telling a story that is making sense of the main themes and concerns of the Women in the lead in Teatru Manoel's production of Mozart's Così fan tutte Helen Sherman (Dorabella) and Jazmin Black Grollemund (Fiordiligi) during rehearsals • Photo: Stefan Kolgen