Opera Caritatis: An Oratorio by A. Vella Gregory
Thu, 12 Mar
|The Oratories
Performers: Mariah Costa, soprano Giosue Agius, tenor Joseph Cutajar, baritone Mark Bartolo, bass James Zammit, violin Elena Muscat, viola Simon Abdilla Joslin, cello Irina Fedcenko, organ In collaboration with Opera Nova Project
Time & Location
12 Mar 2026, 19:30 – 21:00
The Oratories, 21 Archbishop St, Valletta VLT 1443, Malta
About the event
The Seven Acts of Charity (also known as the Corporal Acts of Mercy), are seven actions that all Christians are bound to perform in order to live the message of Christ’s Gospel to the full. These include simple but meaningful acts such feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and burying the dead. In the 16th century the Counter Reformation gave fresh impetus to these practices, with many artists engaging with the subject.
One such collection is a set of six works depicting these acts of mercy by the 17th century Maltese artist Giuseppe d’Arena, held in the Oratory of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Charity. As was common at the time, each act of mercy was associated with a biblical episode to illustrate this. Thus the welcoming of strangers was depicted with the story of Abraham welcoming the Three Angels, the feeding of the hungry was shown with the…