By Ibrahim Al-Khazen
RIYADH (AA) - The curtain closed Saturday evening on Saudi Arabia's inaugural opera performance, garnering widespread acclaim for its groundbreaking debut in the country.
“Dazzling scenes and chapters that carried the story to new artistic dimensions,” wrote the Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission on X.
“The King Fahd Cultural Center witnessed, in a historical epic, the performance of the opera Zarqa Al Yamama,” said local dailies Makkah and Al-Madina.
The newspapers explained that the epic “presents a story from Arab heritage in a Saudi operatic work with an international flavor.”
Saudi theater artist Muhannad Al-Harthi said that “at the end of the performances of Zarqa Al-Yamama, which was produced with all professionalism by the Theater and Performing Arts Commission, I congratulate the nation and the Minister of Culture Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud,” expressing his pride in “this historic achievement of Saudi culture.”
The Arts Commission said previously that the opera, and the first grand opera in Arabic, Zarqa Al Yamama, premiered on April 25 at the King Fahd Cultural Center in the capital Riyadh.
Opera houses are spread across the Arab world, including in Cairo, Damascus, Muscat and Dubai. Currently, Saudi Arabia is building a state-of-the-art opera house as part of the redevelopment of its historic Diriyah region, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi