Discover the piquancy of the Baroque:

From Friday, 11 January: Valletta International Baroque Festival 2019 – various locations around Valletta; Saturday 12 January: Barock 'n' Roll – Teatru Manoel

The seventh edition of the Valletta International Baroque Festival is set to brighten the next couple of weeks with a line-up of events bound to keep the festive feeling alive and playing. The event kicks off this Friday at the sumptuous Teatru Manoel – one of the festival’s main venues – with Extravaganzas for Mandolin, featuring compositions by Vivaldi, Bach and Béla Bartók. Performances continue all day Saturday, through to the day’s crowning glory – and sure-fire audience pleaser – Barock N’Roll (tickets here), a spirited and energetic sortie which merges genres and combines eclectic musical influences from the giants of Rock N’Roll and Classical music. 

Intimate performances and haunting pieces:

Wednesday 9 January from 8.30pm – 10.30pm: Jazz Duo at Yard 32 - Yard 32, Valletta; Friday, 11 January from 7.30pm – 9pm: Winter Serenades – Hotel Phoenicia, Valletta; Saturday, 12 January at 4pm: Rhythm in Essence - Knight Music, Luqa

But, the week does offer cosier forays into music, of various styles. This Wednesday, Angela Vella Zarb will be crooning some jazz tunes, with Karl Galea accompanying on guitar at Yard 32, a gin and tapas flavoured watering hole in the capital which oozes old-school charm. To really step back in time and experience classic elegance, make your way to the art deco Hotel Phoenicia and their pristine grounds, which will ring with Winter Serenades on Friday night from 7.30pm. The south of the island is also putting up its own tuneful performance, with Puerto Rican percussionist Efrain Toro beating sounds which echo singular timbres heard across the globe.

Tuesday, 8 January and Friday, 11 January from 8.30pm: Suspiria by Luca Guadaginino – Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta; Thursday 10 January from 7.30pm – National Theatre Encore Antony and Cleopatra - Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta

With films easily accessible on VoD, and many today hooked on one of the denizens of television series, you’d think the theatrical experience was heavily in decline. Which it is. To our loss. But, this week, we’ll be reminded of the glories of cinematic events with the arrival of the highly-anticipated remake of the 1977 cult horror classic Suspiria. Starring Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, as well as Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz and Mia Goth, and directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), this is one experience you’re not going to want to look away from. And, keep your eyes peeled for Ralph Fiennes in Antony and Cleopatra – also at Spazju Kreattiv, this time on Thursday 10 January – as he struts across the stage in this Shakespearean classic, broadcast from the National Theatre in London.

Keeping to our New Years’ resolutions:

Sunday, 13 January from 3pm: Bahrija Valley and Countryside Walk – meeting point at the kids’ playing field square, Triq il-Mantell, Bahrija; Saturday, 12 January from 10am: Ride Malta's Craziest Zipline! - Miġra l-Ferħa, Rabat

After all that gorging on chocolate, turkey, and cake, it’s no surprise many of us have decided to detox and (try to) get fit in the New Year. If you’re intent on carrying that pledge out through to the finish line, start off on a good note and head down the path being offered up this Sunday on the Bahrija valley and countryside walk which will get you moving for three hours or so. Make sure to wrap up warm. For a little bit more adrenalin, ziplining might be your thing and, in Rabat, Malta’s "craziest" (or so they say) ride is open for business on Saturday from 10am.