2024-02-21 00:20:55
“Zarqa Al-Yamamah” traveled from the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, and from the depths of time between the mountains, sands and valleys of Najd, to the heart of ancient London in the “Goldsmith Hall”.
A new Saudi Arab opera of its kind, inaugurated by the Saudi Minister of Culture, Prince Badr Al-Farhan, from the country of theater and the capital of fine Western arts, Britain, in the presence of an “elite” of connoisseurs of this type of fine arts.
This inauguration is just the beginning, as Riyadh, the Saudi capital, will witness the launch of the work to be presented to the public on April 25, and the opera will begin its performances at the King Fahd Cultural Center Theater.
This is a wonderful “boom” and a brilliant step on a long path on which the steps of international Saudi art are still charting their first steps.
We have a wonderful precedent, which is the “Opera Aida,” the 150th anniversary of which the world celebrated a few years ago. It is a purely “European” work that draws from ancient Egyptian civilization, beginning with an agreement with Khedive Ismail.
The opera Aida was performed in Cairo for the first time on December 24, 1871, and was a success. It was then performed in February 1872 in Italy. It was written by the French scholar (Mariet) and music by the Italian (Verdi). After this timeless, pioneering global experience, the story has not been repeated, with any epic or tale from the Middle East… to my humble knowledge.
Zarqa al-Yamamah, one of the oldest Arab legends coming from the heart of Najd, near the capital, Riyadh, about a woman who possesses fabulous eyesight, with which she protects her people from enemies, even if they are far away.
About obsolete tribes, fallen nations, and mortal peoples, known as the obsolete Arabs, Tasm, Gedis, and the Amalekites.
The Saudi author of the work, Saleh Zamanan, said at the inauguration party in London that the story “reflects the genius of the Arab mood in creating the myth and writing its poems, and even its open ending that allows it to be completed as we do today.”
An elite group of operatic singers, male and female, both Saudi and Western, participated in the work, and the music was composed by the Australian (Bradshaw).
The question is, can this experience be repeated?
With my knowledge of the difficulty, precision, and complexity of preparing such major works, and with our knowledge of the type of connoisseurs of this type of art, are we facing an actual major beginning to scoop up Saudi springs that are rich in fresh water, far from sight, rich in clear water?!
An opera, a movie, a series, a “comic” story, or any form of creative approach, all of this is on the verge of – if the journey is completed and the doors are wide open – with amazing surprises and a pristine world of tales and legends.
I will not burden you by narrating examples of these stories, from Najd, with its doves, Qasim, Hail, Aflaj, Hariq, and its hedges, or from the Hijaz with its hills, mountains, coasts, and islands, or from the south with its deserts, its valleys, and its valleys, or from Al-Ahsa, its springs, and its palm trees, or from the Great Arabian Sands, north and south.
The Arabian Peninsula is full of dozens of stories that “found” even the imagination and conscience of other peoples (the Crescent Westernization, for example).
Stories that need Zarqa Al-Yamamah’s vision and insight!
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#blue #eyes #dove