We attended the 3 Tenors concert in St George’s square in Valletta, although we admit it was not our favourite concert.
A general air of excitement during the day and an impressive set-up in the centre of the capital city of Malta. The area was set out with seats in pairs for social distancing and you had to show vaccine certificates at the gate to enter. All the tickets were free, arranged by the Cultural Agency, and there had been such a great demand, they allocated more seats than planned. There were barriers and netting around so that people outside could not see, but everyone could hear of course. It was just nice to have a seat, especially as the weather forecast was a bit dodgy for the evening.
We were early in town, as we had booked into a hotel for the night rather than try to get back to Gozo on the late fast ferry (see review of SU29 hotel), so had time for a glass or two of wine before joining the queue to get into the concert. Great seats just at the central aisle end of the row, with a perfect view of the stage and big screen at the side. Atmosphere of excitement building and there they were!
Personal view? Not our favourite concert. Voices a bit strident, and one or two songs that we were unfamiliar with (which is about us rather than about their programme), and the piano accompanying them seemed not quite in tune (to a very untrained ear!). Not down to the pianist, who was clearly expert and worked so well with the singers, but maybe related to the sound system rather than the instrument. It did end on a ‘high’ as a spectacular firework display supported their final song Nessun Dorma to the cheering of the crowds nearby as well as the audience. We had originally planned to see the opera Aida in Gozo this week but this was cancelled again until 2022 – bit too difficult keeping to social distancing with the most cast numbers on stage at any one time for any opera!.
