Putting together our new Handel in Malta festival was the professional highlight of my year in 2024. Creating a new festival is always a sort of three-dimensional logic puzzle – challenging and infinitely rewarding when it comes together – and my research trip to Malta was a joy (albeit very busy!). There are many elements to get right, the most important of which is of course the music. We seek strong connection between music and place, a good number of spectacular venues, and for some of the best musicians in the world to be available and have the right repertoire bedded in for the time period. 

All of these parts of the puzzle are happily solved for this festival. Valletta is among the loveliest and most fascinating of cities built in the Age of Baroque, and the island boasts a number of spectacular venues that date to Handel’s time, including the Teatru Manoel, an ornate, gilded masterpiece, and one of the oldest working theatres in Europe. Three of the leading interpreters of Handel’s music perform for us – The English Concert, Gabrieli Consort & Players, and Solomon’s Knot – covering some of his most emotionally powerful and technically virtuosic works, including the opera Rinaldo, Dixit Dominus, oratorio Israel in Egypt and the Messiah.

This is not all – what makes a Martin Randall Festival unique is that every facet is considered and curated. There are plentiful excellent hotels, restaurants and cafés; an urban space compact enough for getting around on foot, and we have chosen a time of year (late November) when temperatures will be pleasant but the crowds have dispersed.

I urge you to read through the online brochure below and to consider joining us on what will be an utterly wonderful experience.

To make a booking please visit our Handel in Malta webpage, or if you have any questions about the festival please do contact me personally – I am always delighted to talk about it.

Lizzie Watson
Artistic Director