Premiere of the Opera TRAB – The Rest is Dust

The Head of Mikiel Anton Vassalli College, Victor Galea, presented the premiere of the opera TRAB – The Rest is Dust, composed by Reuben Pace with a libretto by George Peresso. The performance took place on 25 April 2025 at St. Agatha Auditorium.

TRAB – The Rest is Dust forms the third and final opera in the first-ever Maltese Opera Cycle, a landmark artistic initiative that brought together education, music, and theatre in a large-scale collaborative production. The opera addresses a number of pressing contemporary issues, including environmental concerns, xenophobia, homophobia, capitalism, and greed, inviting audiences to reflect on the human impact of these challenges through a powerful musical and dramatic narrative.

For its premiere, the production featured an impressive collaboration between local and international artists. The performance included the Maxime Orchestra alongside a distinguished cast of international and Maltese opera singers: Genevieve Moore (UK), Olivia Le Roux (France), Claire Ghigo (Malta), Steffan Schantz (Germany), Charles Vincenti (Malta), Louis Andrew Cassar (Malta), and Gheorghe Palcu (Ireland).

A defining feature of the production was the participation of nearly 200 students from the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College, who performed alongside the professional artists. Their involvement formed an integral part of the production, reflecting the college’s commitment to artistic education and providing students with the unique opportunity to engage in a professional operatic production.

The premiere of TRAB – The Rest is Dust marked a significant milestone in Malta’s contemporary operatic landscape, bringing together international expertise and young Maltese talent in a powerful and thought-provoking artistic experience.