Giulio Prandi, conductor
Arianna Art Ensemble
Out of the two dozen or so operas that Mozart composed, only a handful are typically performed. For the second edition of the Valletta Early Opera Festival, Festivals Malta in collaboration with Teatru Manoel presents an enchanting rendition of Il Re Pastore. During this year’s edition of VEOF, the event returns with one of Mozart’s underappreciated pieces, with the return of Maestro Giulio Prandi at the helm of the orchestral ensemble in this tale of war, starcrossed lovers and triumph from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s earlier repertoire; a piece which Mozart composed when still only 19 years old. Comparable to the quartet of lovers present in his famed Così Fan Tutte, Il Re Pastore is a piece that engages with similar themes through an Italian libretto by Metastasio.
This year’s opera includes the return of counter-tenor Federico Fiorio in the lead role of Aminta, Claire Debono as Tamiri and Raffaele Giordani as Agenore. The cast will also include two new-comers to the VEOF: Catherine Trottman as Elisa and Nico Darmanin as Alessandro.