Pelopida

Nearly 280 years after its premiere in Rome in 1747, Girolamo Abos’s Pelopida returned to the stage in its first modern revival.

Reconstructed from surviving manuscript sources, the production reimagined ancient Thebes as a contemporary sculpture gallery: a place where cultural identity is fiercely defended.

Against a backdrop of political instability, Pelopida and his court are torn between personal loyalties, private desires and the demands of power.

Bringing Pelopida to Life

Watch Pelopida Excerpts

Music Girolamo Abos
Libretto Gaetano Roccaforte
Stage Director Brett Nicholas Brown
Conductor Giulio Prandi
Orchestra Arianna Art Ensemble
Set Anthony Bonnici | EBEJER BONNICI
Costume Luke Azzopardi | Azzopardi Studio
Lighting Moritz Zavan Stoeckle
Movement Simon Riccardi-Zani

Valletta Baroque Festival
Teatru Manoel, Malta
Presented by Festivals Malta and Teatru Manoel

Four women dressed in elaborate costumes, stand together on stage in excited conversation. One woman wears a feathered headdress and a gold dress, The others wear colorful outfits with jewelry and feather accessories.
A theatrical scene with a woman dressed in an Egyptian gown with elaborate jewellery and headpiece. A man kneels in front of her, pledging his love. Two men hold a large blue backdrop with a moon, Sphinx and palm tree silhouette.
A woman with red curly hair, decorated with star-shaped accessories, appears to be carrying a pumpkin on a tray. She is dressed extravagantly with bold makeup, including blue eyeshadow. A man in a tuxedo holds the tray, and another man wearing glasse
Three injured soldiers and a young woman from the Auxiliary Territorial Service kneel and gesturing theatrically towards a woman singing and standing on a chair, draped in a UK flag as if she is the figure of Britannia.
A woman dressed in an Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform, holding a soldiers walking crutch as a microphone, singing in front of a large Union Jack flag backdrop.
An injured solider sitting in a chair, holding a glass of scotch, and smiling with his eyes closed. A Red Cross nurse leans over him, gently kissing his head, with a bouquet of flowers in one hand. They are against a plain, light blue background.

Il Parnaso confuso
& La corona

Gluck’s Il Parnaso confuso and La corona were brought together in the drawing room of an English country manor, where ancient mythology meets the changing world of the twentieth century.

In the Roaring Twenties, Apollo and the Muses revel in artistic excess and aristocratic frivolity. Time passes and World War II casts its shadow over the same house, as Atalanta and her companions answer the call to duty.

Composed as separate works and rarely performed today, this double-bill production reveals a dramatic journey from playful decadence to courage and conviction.

Bringing Il Parnaso confuso & 
La corona to life

Music Christoph Willibald Gluck
Libretto Pietro Metastasio
Stage Director Brett Nicholas Brown
Conductor Giulio Prandi & Giacomo Biaggi
Orchestra Arianna Art Ensemble
Set Anthony Bonnici | EBEJER BONNICI
Costume Luke Azzopardi | Azzopardi Studio
Lighting Moritz Zavan Stoeckle
Movement Simon Riccardi-Zani

Valletta Early Opera Festival
Teatru Manoel, Malta
Presented by Festivals Malta and Teatru Manoel

Catalina’s Story

In this new adaptation of the tale of Messer Gentile de’ Carisendi from Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron (Day X, Tale IV), the previously silent Catalina is given a voice.

What follows is a dark, intimate exploration of power, control and abuse.

Created as a solo performance for Hektomeron, a project of Teatrul Național „Marin Sorescu” in Craiova, Catalina’s Story was performed before a live audience and livestreamed internationally, bringing her untold story to audiences around the world.

Watch Creating Catalina’s Story

Writer and director Brett Nicholas Brown
Performer Alina Carla Mangra‍ ‍
Recorded Music Max Richter (Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons)
Video Remus-Bogdan Vlăsceanu
Dramaturg Alana Louise Bowden
Assistant Luana Neghea

Commissioned and presented by Teatrul Național „Marin Sorescu” din Craiova, Romania.
Project concept and coordination Vlad Drăgulescu