The Baalbeck International Festival Committee opened its season for this summer, with a concert performed by the brilliant artist Sumaya Baalbaki, accompanied by the maestro and music director Lebanon Baalbaki and the choir “Our Lady of Louaize”, which includes 40 musicians, and a choir composed of 20 artists and artists.
The ceremony was held on the terraces of the Temple of Bacchus in the ancient Baalbek Citadel, under the auspices of the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, represented by the Minister of Tourism in the caretaker government, Walid Nassar, who also represented the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and in the presence of the Ministers of Information, Culture and Communications in the caretaker government Ziad Al Makari. Muhammad Wissam Al-Mortada and Johnny Al-Qarm, Representatives: Ghazi Zuaiter, Yell Solh and Samer Al-Toum, Governor of Baalbek-Hermel Bashir Khader, Brigadier General Mahboub Aoun representing the Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, former ministers, Chairperson of the Committee Nayla de Freij, artists Abdel Halim and Omar Caracalla, poet Talal Haidar, the deputy mayor of Baalbek, Mustafa al-Shel, and the stands were filled with regarding 2,200 fans of the Lebanese nights.
President Michel Aoun considered in a letter he had addressed to the festivals committee that “since it was, at the dawn of history, Baalbek is a marvel of beauty. It entered our collective memory as well, and settled in the splendor, there where words remain incapable of a picture, and the picture falls short of amazement.”
And he continued: “Thousands of years, and Baalbek is that message of greatness, until I became friends with music, so it became fascinated by our fascination and increased stability in the imagination from which, through him and with him, the message of Lebanon, the builder of beauty, grew.”
He added: “Summer following summer, its dates were, and to it the rise of many, as if he would not but cross it from the noise of the world and the voids of its fleeing moments, to become more firmly established, light, melody, poetry, and dance. Summer 2022, we return to it and it returns to us, Baalbek, the country is tired, and the world is burdened. Come to her, this summer, and find that she is an act of beauty.”
President Aoun concluded his message: “Come to her, old people in their nostalgia, and young people in their prime, and in them sing the anthem of Lebanon. The Baalbek International Festival Committee, its supporters and volunteers for it, Baalbek – the permanent return, thanks and greetings of appreciation, and to the stars of its program this year, the height of the challenge is your creativity that will write a new page of wonder, with love.”
In turn, de Freij stressed in the opening speech that “each of us has gone through very difficult times in recent years, whether because of the health crisis, the collapse that the country witnessed, or the horrific explosion that shook the port of Beirut and its surroundings. As a result, many of us have lost the will to live, but despite what happened, each one of us, a family, an institution, can find within himself the energy to re-live, to share with the creative energy we wanted to spread through others.”
She said, “These are the Baalbek festivals, let’s stay steadfast. We know that we will not eliminate the misery that surrounds us, nor will we solve the existential problems that afflict the country. We are here, to light a spark of hope, and to make a cry. Tonight, our brilliant singer Somaya Baalbaki and Maestro Lebanon Baalbaki, accompanied by many artists, will revive our traditional musical heritage that we hold firmly to, and on Sunday we will look to the future by encouraging the creativity of young Lebanese talents. We chose the successful rock-pop group Adonis to embody this new generation. The next two concerts will bring together artistic expressions from other countries, because our role is also to protect dialogue and the diversity of cultures.”
She continued: “Baalbek and its temples were the cradles of the Middle Eastern festivals, and their permanence must be written for them. Here, I want to thank the main sponsor of the festival, CMA CGM, and the sponsor of this evening, the Saad Allah Foundation and Lubna Al-Khalil, and all the shareholders who, thanks to their help, we can open today the Baalbek Festivals for the 2022 season, and thanks also to the people of Baalbek for their cooperation with us.”
She added, “We will not be alone in making this cry of love for life, as many towns and villages in Lebanon will also revive their festivals to resonate endlessly, and we hope that all these voices will be heard by those who have the ability to revive the country.”
And de Freij concluded: “Now let’s together, look at the stars, and dream during this concert regarding the Lebanon that we yearn for.”
The ceremony, which the “Lebanese Association for Studies and Training” undertook to light the roads surrounding it and the archaeological site by means of two generators, dispelled a spot of darkness that enveloped the neighborhoods of the city of Baalbek as a result of the power outage, with the Lebanese national anthem, and an opening with the choir and chorus accompanied by “The Glory Band” led by its choreographer, the creative artist. Khaled Al-Nabush, who was distinguished by the variety of “scenic choreography” for a period of 17 minutes, sprang from the vagueness of the old Baalbaki heritage in performing the steps of the “northern” and “military” Dabkeh leaning on the spectrum of the Dabke Sheikh “Abu Yahya” who always danced his mustache with joy as his lively body swayed , with a combination of modernity that devised the elegance of its field, the Bacchus Theater, and attracted swallows flying over the dancers, from the temples of the Roman gods. In the background, the six columns of “Jupiter” watched and listened throughout the evening that Somaya Baalbaki enjoyed, the audience who interacted with her with applause and groans of admiration, for selections from the masterpieces of the giants of the Lebanese musical theater such as Wadih Al-Safi and Sabah, and from her own songs.
The rosary recounted in pieces that complement the picture that she painted for the place, the words of Maurice Awad, composed by Walid Gholmieh, and the performance of Shahroura al-Wadi, “A big castle and its heart is big”: Baalbaki sang it, who shone in her white oriental dress: “Get up and play, girls,” “Oh, Zarif Al Tall.” “Ali Dalouna”, “Ataba and Megana”, “Your Eyes, Reem Al-Fala”, “O Ghazal, O Abu Al-Heiba”, “Lebanon Hands Over to Us”, “My Country’s Money is from Heaven”, “There is no God, my eyes, oh, oh, oh, oh, the beauty of my country, oh its beauty.” “Hold your oath with a branch, O bird”, “No matter how hard your eyes pass me by, I have my homeland”, “Oriental woman”, “On the eyelashes of her eyes”, and “Baal, who loved her, wanted a gift to the sun, give it to Baalbek” by the poet Talal Haider .
The evening included Mandali Rahbani with the chorus: “I believe”, “My faith is shining”, “Review with the voices of the bulbul”, and a return to Somaya with “You can be like this”, and he caught the end with authentic tarab, saluting to the planet of the East “Umm Kulthum” and the poem of the poet George Jardaq “This is my night” ”, composed by the late great musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab, which revealed a first-class diamond vocal material by the artist Baalbaki.
