My Choice - Balzan: Méditation from Thaïs

Méditation, the famous entr'acte for violin and orchestra from the Opera Thaïs by the French composer Jules Massenet. It is performed by André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. We take a tour of the village of Balzan, in Malta. Photos by Choy Hong (Jasmine) Grech.

Thaïs is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet based on the novel Thaïs by Anatole France. It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sybil Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role.

Thaïs takes place in Egypt during Byzantine rule, where a Cenobite monk, Athanaël, attempts to convert Thaïs, an Alexandrian courtesan and devotée of Venus, to Christianity, but discovers too late that his obsession with her is rooted in lust; while the courtesan's true purity of heart is revealed, so is the religious man's baser nature.

The work is often described as bearing a sort of religious eroticism, and has had many controversial productions. Its famous Méditation, the entr'acte for violin and orchestra played between the scenes of Act II, is an oft-performed concert music piece; it has been arranged for many different instruments.

After Manon and Werther, Thaïs is one of Massenet's most performed operas, but it is not part of the standard operatic repertoire. The role of Thaïs, similar to another Massenet heroine also written for Sybil Sanderson, Esclarmonde, is notoriously difficult to sing and is reserved for only the most gifted of performers. Modern interpreters have included Carol Neblett, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price and, most recently, Renée Fleming. Géori Boué is particularly associated with the role.

BALZAN:
Balzan is small village in Malta, one of the so called three villages, together with Attard and Lija. The village originally consisted of a group of small dwellings and farms but eventually grew, becoming a parish in the 17th century. As of March 2011 the village has 4,234 inhabitants.

In Malta, many village names are identical to certain family names, as in Attard and Lija. It is believed by some, therefore, that the village inherited its name from a Sicilian family whose family name was Balzan (or Balzano). Other historians claim that 'balzan' refers to a Sicilian tax collector that could have come to Malta to collect taxes for his Sicilian feudal master. This tax collector could have resided in Balzan thus giving the village its present name.

The parish church, built in the mid-17th century, is dedicated to the Annunciation of Our Lady. The church is built in the form of a Latin cross, has one belfry and an elegant dome that can be seen from all around the village. The statue used in the village feast celebrated on the 2nd week of July, is carved in wood by Salvatore Dimech and shows our lady and Gabriel the Archangel.

Lately its population has increased due to large-scale development taking place, largely in the form of apartment blocks replacing villas and their gardens. However, this is mainly occurring on the outskirts of the village, and not the historic centre. The majority of Ħal Balzan is an Urban Conservation Area.

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