Lucia di Lammermoor Tragic Opera in Two Parts Music: Gaetano Donizetti Libretto: Salvadore Cammarano World Premiere: Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 26 September 1835 First performance in Malta: Teatro Reale di Malta, 4 November 1837 Lord Enrico Ashton Boris Pinkhasovich Lucia Ashton Serenad Uyar Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood Giulio Pelligra Lord Arturo Bucklaw Cliff Zammit Stevens Raimondo Bidebent Dario Russo Alisa Marvic Monreal Normanno Bernard Busuttil Early 18th century Setting: Scotland Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Teatru Astra Opera Chorus in collaboration with Coro Lirico Siciliano Conductor: Joseph Vella Artistic Director: Enrico Stinchelli Orchestra Leader Reggie Clews Scenography Joseph Cauchi Chorus Instructors Maria Frendo Assistant Scenographer Andrew Portelli Francesco Costa Costumes Manuel Grima Stage Managers Andrew Portelli George Farrugia Carmel Zammit Sartoria Pipi Stage Construction Johnny Micallef Lights George Zammit Bradley Xuereb Nexos Assistant Directors Angie Bizimoska Juan Vella Maria Selene Farinelli Projections MAV Multimedia Production Assistants George P Cassar Ismael Portelli Sarah Grech Alex Magri Giulia Mandruzzato Choreography Sarah Grech Rehearsal Pianist Christian Maggio Lucia di Lammermoor Joseph Vella Conductor Joseph Vella is generally considered to be Malta’s leading and internationally most widely played Maltese composer. In his works he has touched on a considerable diversity of styles, all ingrained in a personal idiom stemming mainly from the 20th century neo-classical movement. This is amply evidenced by comparing the pungent asperity of his String Quartet op. 33 (written for and premiéred by the Kronos String Quartet) with the lyricism of the Canticle Cantata op. 42 for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra; or the impulsive exuberance of the Violin Concerto op. 65 with the ascetic flavour of some of his a cappella works. Up to the present time Vella’s official catalogue of works reaches 130 opus numbers. These include 10 concertos 2 for piano, 2 for violoncello and one each for violin, piccolo, flute, clarinet, Bassoon and Trumpet, 3 symphonies, (the last one Symphony no.3 The Apocalypse Verses world premiered during the Victoria International Arts Festival on 14 July 2003, with further performances amongst which was the highly successful one at St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, last year), 3 oratorios, 7 song cycles for different combinations, and 2 cantatas. He has also written a large number (about 150) of minor works (liturgical pieces, hymns, marches, music for wind band, etc.), which are not listed in his official catalogue. Vella’s works have been widely performed and critically acclaimed in most European countries, the USA, and Japan. A good number of his works are available on Compact Disc. As a conductor, Vella has a wide repertoire and has received invitations to appear as a guest and to collaborate with many orchestras (Malta National Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Prometheus Symphony Orchestra of New York, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Orchestra “Goffredo Petrassi” di Roma, “Gli Armonici” Palermo, The Yamaha Foundation Symphony Orchestra, etc.) During his long and fruitful association with the Malta Choral Society (1970-1982), he introduced to Malta some of the most outstanding choral works from the traditional and contemporary repertoire; Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s Ballad of Heroes, Bruckner’s Te Deum, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, amongst others. When, in 1997, the then Manoel Theatre Orchestra was reconstituted and renamed as The National Orchestra, Mro Vella had the distinct honour of being appointed its first-ever resident conductor, a position he held for the best part of the first three years of the Orchestra’s existence. Since 1970 Joseph Vella has been the musical director of the Astra Opera Theatre in Gozo, Malta. Over the past years he has conducted very successful productions of Rigoletto, Lucia di Lamermoor, Aida, Nabucco, Macbeth, Turandot, La Forza del Destino, La Gioconda, II Trovatore, La Traviata, Un Ballo in Maschera, etc., some of these with internationally-acclaimed artists like Ghena Dimitrova, Mark Rucker, Cecilia Gasdia, Rumen Doikov, Tiziana Fabbricini, Hao Jiang Tian, and, lately, Francesca Patane, apart from having launched to the world one of the best contemporary tenors, Joseph Calleja. Joseph Vella has also made an international name for himself as a scholar, especially in the field of old Maltese music, which he has edited and performed all over Europe. www.josephvella.com.mt 30 Mediterranea 2017 Enrico Stinchelli Artistic Director Rome-born Enrico Stinchelli is the author and conductor of what has become the most established and respected programme on RAI Radio-Tre, La Barcaccia, dealing with anything that has got to do with the opera world. The much sought- after programme, on air without fail since 1983, has attained ‘cult’ status in Italy and beyond. A universally acknowledged expert in the field, Enrico Stinchelli has a wide network of contacts and huge expertise. His impressive baggage includes intense opera related activity all over Italy, and beyond, working closely with the top professionals in the opera world. He has been assistant and consultant with various significant directors, such as Comencini, among others. His repertoire includes the major titles from the Baroque to the verismo. His ouvre has gained widespread critical acclaim and several prestigious prizes. Boris Pinkhasovich Lord Enrico Ashton Boris Pinkhasovich was born in 1986 in Leningrad in a family of professional musicians. At the age of 7 he was admitted to the Glinka Choir School. He graduated with full honours, singing solos in a multiplicity of genres ranging from Masses, Oratorios, Symphonies, and more. His operatic career as a baritone took off to a flying start after winning the prestigious ‘All-Russian Competition’ in 2005. Being awarded ‘Best Student of the Year’ won him a scholarship that enabled him to further his studies at the St Petersburg State Conservatory, studying with the famous T.I. Khitrova. Concurrently, he was also the soloist of the famous Chamber Choir of Smolny Cathedral, performing all over Russia and beyond. Despite his very young age, his beautiful, powerful, dark voice enables him to tackle roles in grand operas such as Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin, and Simon Boccanegra. His most recent performance of Thésée in Enescu’s Oedipe at the Royal Festival Hall, London, won him rave reviews from Hugh Canning for the Sunday Times of London. Later this year he will make his debut at the Paris Bastille Opera, and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Further engagements will see him perform the part of Lord Enrico Ashton in Limoges, Rouen, and Reims, Boris Godunov in Munich, and Eugene Onegin in Moscow. Pinkhasovich’s repertoire is expanding rapidly, to include a range of operas by Donizetti, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Leoncavallo, and Verdi, not least Don Carlo. Serenad Uyar Lucia While studying the pianoforte and the guitar, Serenad Uyar began singing in her native Turkey. Her talent as musician and singer quickly earned her prestigious awards from Music Conservatory. Immediately noticed by professionals, she first stepped on stage in the role of Olympia in Jacques Offenbach’s Les Comtes d’Hoffman at the Izmir State Opera. Subsequently to her debut, Serenad Uyar won the AS.LI.CO Competition in Milan and came to Europe. She did an internship in the opera studio in France, CNIPAL, for the 2004-2005 season during which she sang: Anna in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda 31 Lucia di Lammermoor at the Marseille Opera and the lead role in Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives at the Sacred Music Festival, with the conductor Kenneth Montgomery. That same year, she sang in Istanbul and at Canakkale in Carl Orff›s Carmina Burana and in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Ibrahim Yazici. In 2006 Serenad Uyar’s talent became even more widely recognized. She was given the role of The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberfloetein Nantes in a production by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. Then the great international pianist Fazil Say granted her the soprano part in recording of a CD in a work from his The Meltin Altiok Oratorio that they jointly performed at the Istanbul Festival before being awarded the first prize in the “Début 2006” competition in Bad Mergentheim, Germany. Her career was then well on its way. Serenad Uyar has performed at the Mannheim Theatre and at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. In 2008 she was invited by La Scala in Milan to perform the soprano part in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana which she would repeat at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and made her debut in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in the same theatre. In 2009, she was Lucia again at the Dijon Opera and took on the title role in Massenet’s Manon at the Nantes Theatre in a production by Renée Auphan and Yves Coudray. Her rounded, crystal-clear voice enables her to tackle operatic roles as diverse as Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Verdi’s Rigoletto and Traviata, as well as the best of bel canto operas of Donizetti and Bellini. Giulio Pelligra Edgardo Giulio Pelligra is one of the emerging Italian tenors of the younger generation. Born in Catania, he debuted in Puccini’s La Petite Messe Solennelle and in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 2006. His mellow, ringing vocal tones enable to sing leading roles in the bel canto tradition operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini. Despite his young age, Giulio has already sung in such important venues as the Teatro dell’Opera, Rome, Teatro Filarmonico, Verona, Grand Théâtre, Genève, Rossini in the Wildbad Festival at the Landestheater, Bregenz, Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Teatro Bellini, Catania, Teatro Lirico, Cagliari, Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari, Teatro Coccia, Novara, Teatro Grande, Brescia, and many more, performing with such conductors as Roberto Abbado, Asher Fisch, Antonino Fogliani, Renato Palumbo, Stefano Ranzani, and Donato Renzetti.