ROSA ENSEMBLE
Valetta, Malta, 10-14/07/2009
Valetta, Malta, 10-14/07/2009
After their first performance in Valletta, the capital of Malta, in 2008, the Rosa Ensemble was invited to return to the island for the annual Malta Arts Festival in July 2009. Since we were working on our new multimedia production Anticantate it was agreed we would perform this piece at the festival. To make the performance more accessible to the Maltese audience, Rosa and the festival arranged two Maltese actors to re-record the Dutch spoken parts on Anticantate’s surround-sound backing track. Actrice Lizzy Timmers performed her role in English especially for the occasion.
And so, well prepared and with 140 kilograms of equipment and instruments, the Rosa Ensemble team boarded the plane to Malta on July 10th 2009.
At our arrival we were very happy to see the location – the ruins of the old opera house in Valletta – well-prepared, which allowed our technicians to could get to work immediately. After some problems with the deliverance the right equipment, which were solved by the festival, we were ready right in time for the two performances.
The two shows went very well. The first one was obviously a first performance on an unknown location and suffered from some unfortunate background noise (fireworks, a local band). But the second performance, with the musicians more at easy and less background distraction, was very satisfactory and turned out to be a beautiful, open air spectacle.
Audiences reactions varied from highly emotional people who were very touched to people for whom the ensemble was just a little bit to experimental. Because of the open character of the location, it was also possible to look at the performance without buying a ticket, which many people did of whom some even returned the to watch it a second time. We realize the music of the Rosa Ensemble is quite experimental compared to what the Maltese audience is accustomed to. Mario Frendo, artistic director of the festival, was very pleased we joined their festival and contributed to it with something unique and seldom seen on the island. The ensemble will probably never reach a mass audience on Malta, but is certainly appreciated by lovers of new and exciting music and theatre.
Looking back, we consider our visit to Valletta a success. By integrating Maltese actors we managed to connect the performance with the island and their inhabitants, which showed us this is a procedure that can be repeated when we play Anticantate, or other pieces, in other countries. Furthermore, we gave an important artistic and experimental impulse to the festival and made new valuable contacts. Lastly, we gained experience in presenting such a complex and demanding production in a foreign country. Thanks to sufficient preparations, it went rather smoothly, which are valuable experiences for the future.
