The Orpheum Theatre is a building situated in

Gżira Gżira ( mt, Il-Gżira) is a town in the Central Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 8,029 as of March 2014. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese, and the ...

, Malta. It was designed in 1932 by the Maltese architect Harold J. Borg (1908–1981), then still in his early twenties, to the design of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

with Spanish features. The theatre was commissioned by Felix Gerada, a developer who lived between Malta and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

(hence the initials FG on the façade) on land he purchased from the Marquis Desain and was built to serve as a movie theatre. The carved relief is said to be the work of sculptor Alfredo Azzopardi, who had already worked on the

Balluta buildings Balluta Buildings is an Art Nouveau apartment block overlooking Balluta Bay in St Julian's, Malta. It was built in 1928 for the Marquis John Scicluna, and it was constructed to designs of Giuseppe Psaila. The building is considered to be among ...

as well as on the Msida Parish church. The Orpheum is a Grade 1 scheduled building since 2001 thanks to the presence of a painting of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

on the ceiling, by Raphael Bonnici Calì (1907–2002). The Orpheum is a near-complete survivor of the large, single-screen cinemas on Malta. Like many of the island’s cinemas, it was flat-floored in the stalls and had a single balcony.

Notable performances

Many world known performers gave performances at the Orpheum. On the 24–25 March 1950, the Italian Tenor

Tito Schipa Tito Schipa (; born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa; 2 January 1889 in Lecce16 December 1965) was an Italian lyric tenor, considered the greatest tenore di grazia and one of the most popular tenors of the century. Biography Schipa was born as ...

performed at the building. A few weeks later,

Maria Caniglia Maria Caniglia (5 May 1905 – 16 April 1979) was one of the leading Italian spinto sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Caniglia was born in Naples and studied at the Music Conservatories of Naples with Agostino Roche. She made ...

gave two recitals. She was supported by the Maltese Tenors

Oreste Kirkop Oreste Kirkop (Chircop) (26 July 1923 - 10 May 1998) was a Maltese singer. Biography Kirkop was born in Ħamrun (Malta). He was the sixth child among the ten siblings of Jean Chircop and Fortunata Panzavecchia. He started to realise his singing ...

and Paul Asciak. On 10 July 1953,

Sir Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

directed the Coronation Concert given by the

Royal Marines Band Service The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS ''Nelson'' – and its ...

. The Italian singer

Claudio Villa Claudio Villa (born Claudio Pica; 1 January 1926 – 7 February 1987) was an Italian singer and actor. Biography Tenor Claudio Villa was born Claudio Pica in the Trastevere quarter of Rome in 1926. He recorded over 3000 songs, sold 45 millio ...

performed at the theatre on the 29 and 30 May 1954. In 1955 the Tenor

Luciano Tajoli Luciano Tajoli (17 April 1920 – 3 August 1996) was an Italian singer and actor. Music festival Luciano Tajoli participated several times (1961, 1962, 1963, and 1970) in the Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1961 with the song Al di là.Mar ...

gave five performances. In June 1958

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

performed at the Orpheum. Among the various interpretations he gave, he sang Nel blu dipinto di blu. During the 1990s (sometime in 1993/94), the first spontaneous pride party was organised at the Orpheum Theatre, even though the police intervened just a few hours into the party.

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

gave a concert at the Orpheum on 25 August 1995.

References

External links

Black Sabbath live at the Orpheum Theatre
25 August 1995 {{Authority control Theatres in Malta Cinemas in Malta Art Nouveau architecture in Malta