Malta Events Guide: June 2023
Malta Events Guide: June 2023
Here are some of the best activities you can enjoy when visiting Malta and Gozo during the month of May
Music and entertainment
Few things bring us all together more effectively than a captivating performance. From tongue-in-cheek comedies and music performances to new theatrical smashes and movie screenings, Malta has some incredible entertainment lined up this month!
BigTease
Frida
Star of Strait Street
Star of Strait Street
Date: 2-4 June
Location: The Phoenicia Malta, Valletta
Based on a true-life love story from World War II, this new musical by Philip Glassborow takes us back to the wild days of Valletta’s most famous street. The beautiful singer Christina Ratcliffe arrives at The Morning Star in “The Gut” to entertain the troops. Then she meets the dashing RAF air-ace, Flying Officer Adrian Warburton. And the rest is history! Staying on in Malta throughout the war, Christina works in the Lascaris War Rooms. She’s awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to the RAF, and becomes known as ‘Christina of George Cross Island’. The play stars Polly March, Jasmine Farrugia and Geoff Thomas, and features wartime standards like “I’ll Be Seeing You” alongside original songs such as “Welcome to Valletta”. It’s a feast for theatre and music lovers, enthusiasts of Maltese history, and anyone looking for a good show!
Get your tickets from tickets.tnd.com.mt
June Blossoms: a concert of classical music
Date: 4 June
Location: Malta society of Arts, Valletta, Malta
Four women musicians will join forces to present the Maltese public a concert of Romantic classical music with a difference. The music that will be presented will include the songs of two women composers: the American Amy Beach and the Swede Valborg Aulin, also a contemporary of Beach. The songs will be performed by renowned soprano Andriana Yordanova with the international pianist Julia Miller on the piano. Together with flutist Clara Galea, Julia Miller will also perform the exquisite ‘Undine’ sonata for Piano and Flute (op. 167) of Carl Reinecke. This sonata is considered one of the major works that exposes the versatility of flute written in the nineteenth century. The concert will end with Johannes Brahms’ well known Sonata for Piano and Violin n. 3 in d minor, played by violinist Agnieszka Kuzma with Julia Miller on the piano.
Get your tickets from www.showshappening.com
Violin and Guitar Recital
Date: 6 June
Location: Teatru Manoel, Valletta
Internationally renowned violinist Carmine Lauri and guitarist Simon Schembri have been invited to deliver an outstanding repertoire to raise awareness on mental health. The marriage between music and mental health will be presented at this year’s ME CSR initiative at the Manoel Theatre on Tuesday 6th June at 8pm with a soiree dedicated to raise awareness for mental health. All proceeds from this concert will go to the Foundation.
Get your ticket from teatrumanoel.com.mt
BigTease
Date: 9 June
Location: Malta Society of Arts, Republic Street, Valletta
An evening of Burlesque and musical Varieté featuring up-and-coming performers, including some first-timers to the stage. Expect a spectacle to remember from live singing to bawdy Burlesque – this show will be spectacular!
Get your tickets from artsmalta.org
Frida
Date: 9, 10 June
Location: Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta, Malta
Frida – A dance theatre performance highlighting the world famous artist’s life and tragedies. Frida is synonymously famous for her provoking art, however this performance focuses more on the duality between the fragility of her body and her strength of character and will. Performed to original music composed by Albert Garzia and choreographed by Diane Portelli, this performance is a spectacular tribute to a woman and true historical icon.
Get your tickets from www.showshappening.com
MET Opera Live: Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (Encore)
Date: 11 June
Location: Spazju Kreattiv Cinema, St James Cavalier, Castille Place
A dream cast assembles for Strauss’s grand Viennese comedy. Soprano Lise Davidsen is the aristocratic Marschallin, opposite mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as her lover, Octavian, and soprano Erin Morley as Sophie, the beautiful younger woman who steals his heart. Bass Günther Groissböck returns as the churlish Baron Ochs, and Markus Brück is Sophie’s wealthy father, Faninal. Maestro Simone Young takes the Met podium to oversee Robert Carsen’s fin-de-siècle staging.
For more information visit kreattivita.org
Walking Home
Date: 16-18 June
Location: Teatru Astra, Gozo
It’s just another day in the office when news that a colleague has been sexually assaulted reaches the boardroom. Emotions run high, but deadlines need to be met. Walking Home is a devised performance exploring the politics and tensions within the issue of sexual violence against women and people of marginalised genders. Based on more than 40 true stories of real experiences collected from people of diverse genders, nationalities and walks of life from around the world, Walking Home is a hard-hitting piece of new writing that sheds light on the community’s role in this vital conversation – and hopes to help it progress well beyond the stage.
Edith Cavell Opera
Date: 17 June
Location: Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta
Completed shortly before the composer’s death in 1923 and performed only once in 1927 at the Royal Opera House Valletta, Paolino Vassallo’s three-act opera Edith Cavell will be making a return to its birthplace on the occasion of the composer’s 100th anniversary from his death. Built around the historical British nurse Edith Cavell who, together with a Belgian colleague, was executed in Brussels in 1915 for enabling over 200 allied soldiers to escape the German occupation of Belgium and reach neutral Holland, this opera is a prime example of romantic idiom that Vassallo inherited from his teacher Jules Massenet in Paris. In this concert version, soloists Martina Bortolotti, Gina Galati, Jorge Pita Carreras, Louis Andrew Cassar, Joseph Lia and Alber Buttigieg, Kor Malta and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will be under the direction of Maestro Dario Salvi who accidently stumbled across a copy of this score in a Norfolk library.
Get your tickets from pjazzateatrurjal.gov.mt
Malta International Arts Festival: Guilhem Desq Solo Hurdy Gurdy
Date: 21 June
Location: Manoel Theatre, Valletta
Guilhem Desq breathes new life into the hurdy-gurdy; a mediaeval instrument played by turning a crank which rotates a wheel acting like a violin bow. Desq plays an electric version of the instrument and has been nicknamed the ‘Hendrix of the hurdy-gurdy’. Thanks to the agility of his technique, Desq can play a wide variety of genres on his electric hurdy-gurdy including traditional European folk, Middle-Eastern music, contemporary rock, hip-hop, electro, heavy metal, and house. Desq travels the world telling stories using his trusted instrument, but the virtuoso of the hurdy-gurdy has also found a loyal fanbase online, with his YouTube videos raking in millions of views.
Get your tickets from teatrumanoel.com.mt
Tales of our Times – Piano Concert by Chris Jarrett
Date: 27 June
Location: Malta Society of Arts, Republic Street, Valletta
A piano concert by American pianist and composer Chris Jarrett organised by the Associazione Mozart Italia. Chris Jarrett utilizes the structures of classical music and the freedom of jazz improvisation. He combines his secure instinct for formal structures with the spontaneity of jazz. Great influences to be heard in his music come from as diverse a list of personalities as Johannes Ockeghem, Sergej Prokofiev, Charles Mingus and Frank Zappa.
Get your tickets from www.showshappening.com
Ellie il-Musical
Date: 30 June
Location: Manoel Theatre, Valletta
Ellie, il-Musical is a brand-new jukebox musical performed in Maltese and English, set in the iconic 1960s and 70s and featuring classic songs of the day. It tells the heart-warming story of four friends in Malta in the late 1960s, as they decide whether to form a band together or follow their singing dreams alone. Can everyone finally accept that all they need is love? Written by Simon Bartolo, directed by Josette Ciappara, choreographed by Warren Bonello and with musical direction by Elton Zarb, Ellie, il-Musical features a stellar cast of local musical performers.
Get your tickets from teatrumanoel.com.mt
history
Explore Malta’s rich and lavish history, culture and traditions
Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Sunset Tour
World Way II Harbour Cruise
Salini Catacombs Pre-Booked Tour
Night at the Museum
Date: 9 June
Location: Fort St Elmo Valletta, Malta
Experience Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum like never before! The site will come alive during special extended hours from 7.00pm to 10.30pm, with re-enactors bringing history to life in every corner of the museum. Travel back in time through Roman, Medieval, and Early Modern eras, right up to the French occupation of Malta and World War II.You’ll get to wander through the impressive grounds of the fort, take in the stunning architecture of the two chapels dedicated to St Anne, and discover seven sections of the National War Museum covering 7,000 years of Maltese Military History. Don’t miss your chance to see notable artefacts like the Gloster Sea Gladiator N5520 FAITH, Willys Jeep ‘Husky’ used by both Eisenhower and Roosevelt, and Malta’s award for gallantry, the George Cross. Get your tickets at the door.
For more information visit heritagemalta.mt
World Way II Harbour Cruise
Date: 8 June
Location: Sliema, Malta
A historical journey through the harbours flanking the victorious city of Valletta, the main target of Axis air raids during World War II. Led by Senior Curator for Fortifications, Matthew Balzan, and Head of Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit, Prof. Timmy Gambin, this cruise will re-trace the dramatic history of the Second Great Siege of Malta, which transformed the area between 1940 and 1943. Imagine the bombs raining down on the fortifications and military installations of our beleaguered capital and learn more about the underwater heritage that stud the seabed.
Get your tickets from heritagemalta.mt
Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Sunset Tour
Date: 16 June
Location: Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Archaeological Complex, Qrendi
Explore Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park in the evening by during this sunset heritage trail. The event will include a visit to the two unique prehistoric sites of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Archeological Park, as well as the surrounding Mediterranean garigue landscape with its many historical features including the Misqa Tanks, the Congreve Memorial and the nearby Ħamrija Tower. Curators and other experts will be available on site to discuss the archaeological remains and highlight the natural features surrounding the temples. This event will offer a rare opportunity to explore and understand these sites in more detail, especially since the area will be void of the large number of visitors usually present during the regular opening hours.At the end of the tour refreshments will be served at the Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Visitors Centre.
Salini Catacombs Pre-Booked Tour
Date: 17 June
Location: Salini Catacombs, Naxxar
Comprising more than 15 small hypogea, mostly cut in a quarry,, the size of this burial site suggests that a fairly large community must have lived in the area. Only five of the largest hypogea are accessible nowadays, four of which are dug into a squarish section of the quarry.
Despite their small size, these hypogea provide us with ample data and are a lasting legacy of the highly-skilled craftsmen that carved them. Through its heavily decorated tombs, the main hypogeum points towards a Christian origin. Pre-booked tours will take place every half an hour between 10:00 and 14:30, alternating in Maltese and English.
Get your tickets from heritagemalta.mt
Stone to Metal – Pre-booked Guided Tour & Obsidian Tool-Making Demonstration
Date: 18 June
Location: Borġ in-Nadur, Sqaq In-Nadur, Birżebbuġia
Celebrate the European Archaeology Days by joining a guided tour with a difference. Visitors will explore the Neolithic remains on site, as well as the earliest defensive wall on the Maltese Islands, dating to the Bronze Age. An experimental archaeologist will demonstrate the way simple stone tools were produced in the Neolithic using obsidian. In the period in question, metal was not yet available and only stone was used to produce tools. Various types of stone were utilised, including coralline and chert which are locally available, as well as obsidian and flint which were brought over from neighbouring islands such as Sicily, Lipari and Pantelleria.
For more information visit heritagemalta.mt
food and drinks
Malta has everything you and your family could wish for on holiday and the cusine is just sometihng else. Here’s our pick of food-related activities to keep the whole family entertained
valletta food tour
traditional Maltese ravjul
Folklore Dinner Show
Maltese Ravjul Workshop
Date: 15 June
Location: Mediterranean Culinary Academy, Naxxar
The traditional Maltese ravjul holds a special place in the hearts of the Maltese people. This workshop, which happens to be also vegetarian friendly, aims to create a modern and refined version of your grandmother’s ravioli while not veering too far from the traditional recipe. The team of chef instructors will guide you through the process of making fresh pasta dough and shaping it into perfect ravjul. These will be filled with a farce made from locally sourced gbejna and pecorino, finished with a refined tomato sauce using quality local produce.
Reserve your spot at www.mcamalta.com
Folklore Dinner Show
Date: Every Wednesday and Friday
Location: Ta’ Marija Restaurant, Mosta
A cultural celebration through dance, characterised with local ‘Folklore’ performances. Enjoy a Maltese dining experience alongside this authentic tradition.
For more information visit tamarija.com
Maltese Rural Cooking Class
Date: Various dates/ Book your private class
Location: Diar il-Bniet Farmhouse Kitchen, Dingli
Choose this experience for a three-hour hands-on cooking class. You will have the opportunity to cook a full blown menu, from appetiser to dessert, using only the freshest seasonal ingredients. Whilst every dish will be introduced by a family story or a local tradition, you will learn the tricks of my grandmother’s traditional cooking. You will discover the secrets of the local peasant country cooking.
For more information visit diarilbniet.com
Valletta Food Tour
Date: Every Saturday
Location: Meeting point: Front entrance to St. John’s Co-Cathedral in St. John’s Square
Discover the culture and cuisine of this unique Mediterranean island in a food-filled three hour walking trail packed with curious and exciting information by an experienced guide – Graze while you go! The food tours offer a sumptuous glimpse into this world of local restaurants and gourmet food shops and featuring artisan cheeses and crusty bakes from local ovens, rich hand-made chocolates, local wines and local beer. Suitable clothing and sensible footwear are a must as trails will be held in all weather conditions. Tours are only available in English.
Book your spot by visiting offbeatmaltafoodtrails.com
Malta International Wine Festival
Date: 21-25 June
Location: Argotti Gardens, Floriana
The summer wine festival is set to provide an informative, educational and entertaining wine experience for the general public, with a wide range of different wines. The festival will be showcasing wines from Malta and around the world, offering a variety of different grapes from all corners of the world. Learn about the art of wine making, sample some of the best wines, meet notable wine makers and enjoy gastronomy and live music all in a breathtaking setting.
art and culture
Immerse yourself in the Malta art scene with our guide to the best exhibitions and arty hotspots this month
Il-Ħabba Tal-Għajn
A Gift of Glory
BACKLOT
Il-Ħabba Tal-Għajn
Date: 8-28 June
Location: Malta Society of Arts, Valletta
A solo exhibition by Alex Dalli, following the artist’s painterly journey from the figurative into the abstract. Sitting at the cusp between the Modern and the Contemporary, Dalli’s practice has evolved, over 45 years, from a desire to escape the difficult conditions of childhood to a deeper concern with the spiritual in art.
A Gift of Glory
Date: 1-24 June
Location: St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta
The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation is delighted to announce that The Set of Tapestries will be exhibited at St John’s Co-Cathedral after an extensive restoration process that lasted 16 years at De Wit Laboratories in Belgium. The last time they were displayed was during Pope St John Paul II’s visit to Malta. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to see these magnificent tapestries and appreciate their beauty, historical and religious significance.
Backlot
Date: 1-25 June
Location: Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, Malta
Experience Charlie Cauchi’s ‘Backlot’ exhibition, featuring a multi-faceted approach to deconstructing Malta’s cinematic (mis)representation through video, photography, and built structures.
