Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1211430
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2020 8 CULTURE BULGARIAN great Vladimir Stoyanov will be appearing in the production of Verdi's Otello be- ing staged by Gaulitana: A Fes- tival of Music on Saturday April 25th, 2020. The festival has en- gaged this world-renowned bar- itone for the extremely crucial role of Iago, thus complement- ing the Otello of Lithuanian ten- or Kristian Benedikt. Vladimir Stoyanov was men- tored by the famous Bulgarian opera singer Nicola Ghiuselev, after which he commenced an impressive career, gaining inter- national recognition as one of the leading baritones in the op- era scene. He regularly appears in the most prestigious theatres world- wide, whether Milan's La Scala, Milan, New York's Metropolitan Opera, London's Covent Garden, Paris's Opéra, Berlin's State Op- era, or Vienna's, to name a few. He has worked with conduc- tors such as Zubin Mehta, Sejei Ozawa, Daniel Oren, Nello San- ti, Riccardo Muti, Marco Armil- iato, Chung, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Donato Renzetti, and Renato Palumbo, and directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Stefan Herheim, Ugo de Anna, Arno Bernard, and Stefani Maz- zonis di Pralafera. Stoyanov's soft and extended baritone voice as well as his nat- ural dramatic instinct made him very adapt to the Belcanto rep- ertoire, especially Verdi's reper- toire. For this, he has been acclaimed by the critics. The New York Times has praised him for his "warm, attractive voice", Opera News for his "gorgeous legato sound and remarkable breath control", and opera-online.com highlights his "golden voice, dis- tinguished by the nobility of the phrasing, the mastery of breath, and an impressive projection". Bachtrack.com stated that "Stoyanov provided the Cov- ent Garden audience with … baritone bliss", while scherzo. es underlined that "the big win- ner of the night was the bari- tone Vladimir Stoyanov, one of the great Verdian voices of his string. His broad voice, rich in timbres, gathers all the complex nuances of the character, from the intense lyricism to the des- perate introspection. Not sur- prisingly, the interpretation of the dramatic great final scene was very applauded, which is very meritorious as the back- ground in this theatre refers us to mythical voices such as Leo Nucci, Renato Bruson or Piero Cappucilli". A particularly significant and pertinent review of his Iago is that by the schwaebische.de, namely that "Verdi actually wanted to call his opera ... Ia- go. The new production at the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden would have justified this, be- cause Vladimir Stoyanov creates the role of the darkling (obscu- rantist / reactionary) so gripping that he steals the show from the title character". Verdi's Otello is being staged at Gozo's Teatru Aurora, and online booking is open on www. teatruaurora.com. World-renowned baritone for Gaulitana's Otello in Gozo RUBEN Paul Borg, Associate Profes- sor within the Faculty for the Built En- vironment at the University of Malta, will be giving a presentation about the Reinforced Concrete Water Tower in Marsa, Malta, constructed in the 1930s to serve the needs of the public abat- toir. The water tower suffered has severe degradation, and a rigorous and chal- lenging conservation project was initiat- ed, intended to restore the structure and extend its lifetime. Ruben Paul Borg, project leader, shall present the project objectives and shall review the innovative interventions leading to the conservation of the His- toric reinforced Concrete Water Tower. The presentation is part of the lec- ture programme of The Archaeologi- cal Society Malta and will be held at 6pm at The Archaeology Centre, Car Park 6, University Campus, Msida on Wednesday, 19 February. Appraising and restoring the historic reinforced concrete water tower in Marsa Vladimir Stoyanov