1565 The Musical

1565 centres on a young knight Henri and his friend Alessandro. Towards the beginning, they are both enjoying their lives in the outrageous way that knights were infamous for before as well as after the siege. As the siege starts, they are both eagerly looking forward to the adventure ahead but as Henri falls in love with Anna, the stakes are suddenly raised. Suddenly, all three are forced to grow up very quickly as they struggle to avoid the fate that destiny seems to have laid out for them. At the same time, Anna has some ruthless competition for Henri’s attention in the form of Lady Cecile while Henri’s uncle the Grand Master is continuously trying to keep the Turkish onslaught at bay.

The music, for this daunting enterprise, has been composed by Paul Abela. He is one of our finest and most versatile musicians and composers, and has also written the music for a number of Malta’s Eurovision Song Contest entries. The book and lyrics of 1565 are the work of a young actor and writer Malcolm Galea, who was responsible for the pantomime, Cinderella. Masquerade has also taken no chances over the design of this mega-production. Sets are by ‘Oscar’ winning designer Peter Howitt and costumes by Ernest Camilleri.