Stop 03 of 12
Teatru Astra & the Two Opera Houses
A town of seven thousand with two opera seasons
Free to hear. You have 3 of three free stops left, on any tours.
Guide to Teatru Astra & the Two Opera Houses
Victoria, a town of some seven thousand people, has two full-sized opera houses three streets apart, each staging a full opera every autumn. Teatru Astra on Republic Street belongs to the La Stella band club and St George’s parish; the Aurora belongs to the Leone club and the Cathedral parish. The rivalry between them is the town’s argument about itself, carried on by other means.
Two clubs, two theatres
The Astra opened in 1968 and belongs to La Stella, a band club founded in the nineteenth century. The Aurora opened in 1976 and belongs to Leone, founded in the same decade. Each stages an opera every autumn with an orchestra, imported soloists and a chorus of Gozitans with day jobs, and each does so partly to outdo the other.
What the rivalry is about
La Stella is the club of St George’s parish; Leone is the club of the Cathedral parish in the Citadella. The two parishes have contested precedence since the cathedral was built, and the band clubs, feasts, fireworks and theatres are that contest continued. Which theatre a Gozitan prefers tells you where they were baptised.
There are more than a hundred band clubs across Malta and Gozo, each a social club built around a brass band, with a bar, a festa balcony and a membership that passes down through families. Two opera houses in a small town is what happens when that instinct meets money and a stage.
What to look at
- The club’s name and emblem on the front
- Posters for the autumn opera, up for most of the year
- The Aurora’s fly tower over the rooftops to the east, if you can pick it out
Practical
- Performances
- The opera seasons fall in October and November; tickets sell out well ahead.
- Terrain
- Level along Republic Street; the climb to the Citadella starts beyond.
Walk to stop 04 · The Citadella Gate
Go back along Republic Street to It-Tokk and take the direct climb up It-Telgħa tal-Belt to the Citadella gate. It is short and steep, with steps.
About 4 min · 220 m
Feedback
How did this stop go?