VICTORIN GALEA
Victorin Galea was born in 1926, she was the daughter of Manwel Casha and Karmena nee Bonello. Her father’s nickname was il Bronk. Brought up in a family of actors in Senglea, Victorin started displaying interest in theatre from a very young age. For a short period of time she also played the violin.
Her childhood was a happy one, yet the outburst of the Second World War changed everything. Manwel and Karmena moved their family to Mdina to avoid the heavy bombardments that Malta, especially the harbour area, was subjected too. The war was a traumatic event in the life of Victorin, and many others, her father died during the war and this had an impact on the young Victorin. Their father’s passing and the tragic events of the Second World War did not demoralize the talents of Victorin’s family. In fact her brother Benny had a small company and started to organize small performances at Astoria in Rabat. They staged a number of plays that helped most local people to mentally and emotionally escape the horrors of the blitz and the destructions of war. Victorin knew how to numb her pain, and helped others to numb theirs through the arts.
In 1942 Victorin’s acting career had a major breakthrough. Figorini Belli was an Operetta that had to be performed by Guza Caruana. Unfortunately, Guza could not perform and Victorin was asked to take on her place. It is recorded that Victorin cried and did not want to be part of the performance but managed to give an extraordinary performance. She impressed the audience and the directors of the Operetta. From then onwards, Victorin became one of Malta’s most sought after actors.
She started to collaborate with Malta’s most important and talented artists such as Charles Clews, Johnny Catania, Nosi Ghirlando, Charles Thake and Johnny Navarro. However, Victorin was a woman. Women were not allowed to perform on stage, mostly they were insulted. It was considered a sin, dnub mejjet. In fact, in Clew’s iconic play ‘It Tieg ta Karmena Abdilla’, Nosi Ghirlando played the part of Karmena. That is why most male actors performed female parts. Yet, one of the first women to break this wrong tradition was Victorin Galea. Karmena Abdilla was perfectly fitted for Victorin’s persona which was larger than life.
Post War Malta was a time of reconstruction. The country had to find its own identity and its heritage. The popular theatre mostly pushed by the genius of Charles Clews, gave a new type of identity to most the Maltese. Another technological advance was the introduction of the Redeffusion and its sitcons. Broadcasted performances became part of the Maltese life, Clews, Johnny Navarro, Charles Thake, Gemma Portelli and Victorin Galea sang songs and recorded plays for the entertainment of most people.
During the 1960s Victorin was being honoured by the Maltese authorities. She was winning several performing prices and praised by Francis Ebejer, among others. She also managed to create her own performance company alongside Armando Urso and Johnny Navarro.
During the seventies to the late eighties, cinema and theatre, like most of the arts, were dismissed. Unfortunately, the island never really recovered from this, the authorities seem to have forgotten who lifted the spirits of the people during hardship. Yet, Victorin was sought after by the younger generations when theatre started to open up again. DH Productions contacted the now veteran actress to revive the ‘It Tieg ta Karmena Abdilla’. Victorin, who was known to help and encourage the new emerging artists, performed Clew’s play which was broadcasted on local television. She played alongside Hermann and Karl Bonaci and John Suda. Once again she captured the imagination of the Maltese in a role that was fitted for her, as described by a friend and actor Mario Micallef. Vitorin was the face of both Karmena Abdilla and the famous and tragic Madonna ta Coqqa performance. In the latter one can fully understand her versatility as an artist.
Sadly Victorin passed away in 1996. Malta lost an extraordinary artist, yet she was also a humble and kind woman who never forgot her past and her purpose, which was to make others happy. Like many of her contemporaries, Vitorin was huge on stage, extremely humble like normal people. Her generation is irreplaceable.
References;
https://mt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitorin_Galea
03/05/2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAVOdyxOptE&t=1389s
27/04/2022
