Following the huge success of the first event in January 2013, the Malta Tourism Authority has announced the return of the Valletta Baroque International Festival in January 2014.
This year will see an impressive gathering of internationally known baroque musicians and groups performing in an incredible array of historical venues around Valletta, including the elegant Teatru Manoel, one of the most exquisite 18th century theatres in the world.
The festival will run for just over two weeks from 10 – 26 of January and will conclude with a spectacular baroque ball at Teatru Manoel. This year’s baroque festival programme will incorporate three major religious works; The Monteverdi Vespers, Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Another festival highlight is the performance of Rameau’s opera as 2014 marks the 250th anniversary of the death of Jean Philippe Rameau.
The programme also offers fantastic performances from famous counter tenor Max Emmanuel Cencic, a France based Maltese guitarist Simon Schembri and Malta’s own home-grown talents including Gillian Zammit, Clare Massa, Nicholas Mulroy, Albert Buttigieg, the Anon and Goldberg Ensembles under the direction of Michael Laus and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
The performances will centre around the exquisite Teatru Manoel, one of the oldest working theatres in the world. The festival will also extend to the architectural beauty of St. John’s Co Cathedral and to a range of religious and splendid baroque venues around Valletta.
Built by the Knights of St. John after the Great Siege of 1565, Valletta not only served as a powerful fort but embellished at the height of the baroque period, to become a strongpoint of culture, economy and politics. The Valletta International Baroque Festival has been conceived purposely as a celebration of this baroque identity of Valletta.
“The Valletta International Baroque Festival celebrates the history and architectural beauty of Valletta attracting music lovers from around the world. Soon to be European Capital of Culture, the festival further promotes the vital role that Valletta played in European history whilst continuing to promote Malta as a winter and cultural destination” says Alex Incorvaja, UK Director of the Malta Tourism Authority
