The Sliema Symphony Band conducted by Mro Ronnie Debattista will hold its annual Celebrity Concert for Europe on Saturday, 24 March, 2007 at the Sir Temi Zammit Auditorium of the University,Msida, at 7pm. Main international guests will be leading Croatian Tenor Voljen Grbac, and pop singer Vivien Galeta who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. Voljen Grbac will perform Italian and Neapolitan classical songs like "Mattinata" by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, "Cor'ngrato", "Un amore cosi' grande", "Granada", Mario Lanza's landmark song "Because", and Rossini's flamboyant song "La Danza".
Vivien will interpret selections from famous musicals like "Memory" from 'Cats', "I don't know how to love him" from 'Jesus Christ Superstar'; and Mina's greatest hit "Grande, grande, grande". Tenor Voljen Grbac and pop singer Vivien will also perform a number of duets including "All I ask of you" from 'Phantom of the Opera', "Il Tango delle Capinere", "La Spagnola" and more. In the gran finale they will give a special rendition of Claudio Villa's "Il tuo mondo" partly in the original Croatian version and concluding with the Italian lyrics.
Considered as one of Croatia's international standard-bearers, Voljen Grbac was born in 1956 in Vincovci and currently resides in Rijeka where he is the First Soloist Tenor at the Opera House. He graduated from the "Giuseppe Tartini" Conservatory in Trieste, Italy, and underwent specialisation studies in Madrid, Spain. He performed more than 25 first roles in operas like Tosca, Il Trovatore, Carmen, Pagliacci, Faust and La Traviata in leading opera houses in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Slovenia.
In April on his return from Malta, he will be the leading performer as Cavaradossi in Puccini's 'Tosca' in Rijeka's Opera House. The Sliema Band's special contribution to musical excellence will be the performance on the trumpet by Sigmund Mifsud of his extraordinary arrangement of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". Sigmund Mifsud is an established professional trumpet-player with the National Orchestra, conductor and renowned arranger of highly challenging compositions.
This year's edition of the Celebrity Concert for Europe marking the Sliema Band's memorable first-ever live performance in Brussels of Malta's National Anthem following the accession in the European Union, includes also Ronnie Debattista's original composition "Fanfare and Theme" and Jean Treves' selection entitled "Bonjours Paris". Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and Cardenio Botti's Inno "Sliema" will bring to an end this Celebrity Concert for Europe. Tickets are obtainable from: Societa' Filarmonica Sliema at 34, St Trophimus Street, Sliema (9944 7434); Aqua Marina Dive Systems, Gzira (21 31 71 37); Simler's Confectionery and MAJ Morris Stationers in Sliema; and La Valette Band Club, Republic Street, Valletta.
News RSS