Vocal Wedding Music



Wedding ceremonies have often relied on romantic songs to set the perfect tune for the occasion. Couples take the vows and exchange rings with beautiful wedding songs being played in the background, making it nothing less than a spectacular event for the bride and the groom. Though there are hundreds of songs themed on the special occasion of marriage, there are some that continue to be eternally romantic and soul stirring. This article lists some of the best wedding songs ever. If you are getting married soon, go through the list and know your pick for the D-day. Finally found time to update my blog! Been in Malta for almost a week, and suffering from what T calls "entertainment burnout"...well I intend to keep burning myself out until my ashes turn to gas!

The Opera: Act I - Juliette falls in love and screaches her head off

Given the circumstances, the opera turned out not such a disappointment (it wasn"t brilliant either). One had to admire the valiant effort made by hte orchestra and singers. Van der Plas and Vaduva (the two replacements for Calleja and Lisnic) were a mixed bag. The former tended to sound as if he were constantly changing gear while singing, and at certain points one could notce that he had accidentally hit reverse gear. Vaduva was marginally better, with some impressively screechy notes in the top register...well actually there was no bottom register to start with! Also, Juliette is meant to be a graceful naive 20yr old virgin not a 50yr old grand dame who fondled Romeo in such a manner that one doubted her inexperience on that front. Of course, I am referring to the acting not to anything directly related to the singers personally. However, one could ont fail to notice the over-the-top qualities of the little acting there was. Well, it was to be expected after the director resigned...oh yes, and no-one has taken responsiblity for it yet...

The rest of the cast, save Massimiliano Valleggi who was a fine Mercutio, was Maltese. I was impressed by the overall quality of the Maltese cast who far outshone the two soloists. Particularly fine was Gillian Zammit, who not only looked stunning in her dress (even though her role was a male one!!) but also matched her looks with a superb vocal technique and clear diction. Claire Massa, Charles Vincenti and Noel Galea were all technically secure and sang with musicality. Less successful were the minor roles. Albert Butigieg still had a somewhat shaky technique and was not always on the ball, but that is not to say that he was not good. His main setback was mainly due to the casting of his daughter Juliete. As her father it must have been quite disturbing to try and caress someone some 25 years older than him! Kevin Caruana had lots of confidence but little by way of musicality, while Mangion was competent but not entirely secure (although with the amount of mishaps that affected this opera, its a wonder that anyone was secure!) Lia and Vella Bondin needed more confidence as they tended to move about the stage without any clear idea of what was happening.

The Chorus. (Have you seen the recent French film of that name? do so, very sweet!...ANYWAYS....) The Chorus. It was, and here I am being very kind, C.R.A.P. Notes all over the place, everyone doing different dynamics and phrasing, no diction whatsoever, no stage presence, no discipline. The chorus, or the Malta Chorale as it has been grandly termed, was not disappointing, it was disgustingly unprofessional. The orchestra, under Laus, was impressive. Laus" efforts are commendable given the circumstances. Also, I realised that as a conductor he can pull it off successfully and there were some genuinely beautiful moments.

Oh, and as a postscript, you might be interested to know that during the Friday performance, Mr TCD insisted on talking all the way throughout the performance....but I"m sure he was translating the French for us....very commendable.

Act II - The Secret Marriage of Failure and Incompetence

On Tuesday I had the (mis)fortune of attending rehearsals for the other opera in the festival, Cimarosa"s Il Matrimonio segreto, with singers from the Operalaboratorio of Palermo. To put it succintly, it was awful. The singers, who are in reality students not seasoned singers fit for an "International" Festival, were mostly poor. The only decent one was the baritone Ugo (whose surname I forgot..I"ll look it up though). The three female soloists sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks, while the two male servants, in their ill-fitting costumes, looked like Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee. The singing...figure skating on musical pitches; I never knew you could fit so many pitches in an octave. The set consisted of six light blue doors arranged in a semicircle which looked like a set for Bluebeard"s Castle gone horribly wrong. The costumes made them look like highly ornate wedding cakes. The orchestra, again under Laus, strode valiantly on as the music went from one aria to the next.

Such a production is definitely unfit for an International Festival, and can in reality only be marketed as a student production and nothing more. BUT. There is always a but. The choice of production is extremely logical. The student singers do not get paid for their services, which saves money. The sets are brought from Sicily, which saves money. The director is in reality the singing coach, which saves money. The orchestra involved is small which saves money. The production is a flop, which loses money. The festival is a failure, which loses audiences. And the Manoel management is not held accountable...

Act III - The Tragedy

If there is no money and no resources, why oh why do they try to mount a festival invovling the most expensive cultural event ever?????? Well, perhaps it proves to show that grandiosity and pomposity are the hallmarks of amateurism.