The Royal Opera House, Valletta

The Royal Opera House in Valletta has been on the minds of the Maltese for ages. After more than 50 odd years it still stands in ruins and the dilemma always was whether to rebuild it as it was, give it a contemporary look or rebuild something totally different from the original purpose.



Once again we are debating the issue and a decision is now being made to finalise it. As it stands now, the site is to be used as the Parliament of Malta - shifting it from the Palace Square. A number of locals disagree about this. Some say that the site is still small for a decent opera house which the Maltese badly lack. The Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is quite shocked at the idea of relinquishing the chance of having the site as a proper Opera House in his own country.

It is not an easy matter to solve but the locals are now convinced that it is about time we revamp Valletta in time for the 450th Anniversay of the city in 2018. The most critical issues at the time is The opera house, St Elmo, the entrance gate and the creation of car parking. The Valletta Alive Foundation had organised a seminar on exactly this matter.

A site set up expressly for the opera house project is at http://www.maltaoperahouse.com/ in which there are those who express their disagreement with the Parliament proposal.

Renzo Piano is once again to be consulted about this major project to Valletta.

Whatever the outcome it is now time that we stop further discussions and get on with the job once and for all.

Inspiration

One of the things that matter to me is inspiration - any kind. As long as I am able to be inspired about something, I am happy. It could be an insight or a new idea about doing something. It could be the cause of changing my perception on my views about something or other. At such moments, I feel enriched more than I could ever be with mere money.

I just came across a video about a person who could easily have given up on life - and yet has managed not only to overcome his difficulties but is actually happy and thankful to be alive. As we grow older the challenges may increase and being touched by this personality should be a reminder to us to appreciate life inspite of any mishaps we might be going through.

The Ave Maria

Christmas is aproaching once again and I believe that one particular sound that we baby boomers long to hear (and do expect to hear) at these times of the year is the Ave Maria. Various are the versions and renditions that are beautiful not to mention the ones of Enrico Caruso or Mario Lanza. But closer to my time I tend to find one of the best renditions of the Ave Maria is by Luciano Paverotti. Here I found a lovely sound recording of his voice hoping to touch many with his lovely voice.