May Sindbad sail to many lands...

As a child, spending summer holidays in Oman also meant enjoying half an hour of cartoons on the Sultanate of Oman Television.

Drawing and reading books were also part of the hobbies children looked up to those days, and Sindbad the Sailor's adventures were something that I loved to ponder about.

Can you imagine the delight when I had the opportunity to watch this hero in an opera setting?

The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) began the 2025/2026 season with the world premiere of 'Sindbad, The Omani Sailor.' It is the authentic Arab opera of Oman. The production is a collaboration between ROHM and MÜPA Budapest, one of Europe's largest performing arts centres.

Setting the stage for action was the folklore group from Sur, Al Ajyal. The group has enjoyed a national cultural presence since its founding in 1984. Immediately after their performance, the screen changed to the setting of a bustling coast city, and the performers merged into the crowd. From then on, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra took over.

The story begins at a vibrant port full of people eagerly cheering and welcoming the sailors back home. And I sat wondering, could it be in Suhar?

And then Sindbad appeared - so here he is, I thought to myself. Ragga Eldin played the role of Sindbad, and as he came out of the ship, I was eager to know where the adventure would take him.

With no time wasted, a stern commissioner arrives to announce that Sindbad must immediately report to the ruler (Reda El Wakil). The story sets Sindbad sailing off to find the ruler's daughter, The Secret of Life, but her older sister, Fairouz (Dima Bawab), who is engaged to Sindbad, also makes her way into the dhow in a disguise only to be captured by the minister, Samaan (Ashraf Sewailam). The manipulative minister was happy that he had sent Sindbad back to the sea and thus separated him from Fairouz. “If you want to be successful, never hit from the front,” says the minister, who turns out to be the villain.

And the setting changes to a starlit sky with a crescent moon when Sindbad starts his journey. He eagerly gives charity to a stranger, who in return gifts him 'Samsamah' - the sword - and Sindbad says the Sword of Salvation is in his hands.

Fairouz joins the journey against the wishes of Sindbad but has the Book of Light, which talks about a secret of perfume that brings back the lost one. The manuscript also talks of an island.

Riding off into the sea, the situation is one of despair, but for Sindbad, failure was never a destiny.

Now, to make the plot tough, there is a sorceress (Gala El Hadidi) who was thrown out and wants to take revenge. Teaming up with the minister, she casts a spell to make violent waves rise and drown Sindbad and his sailors.

When Sindbad feels desperate with his ship broken and his sailors feeling hopeless on the cursed island, in comes a mysterious pirate and saves them with his magical flute. "Despair will never reach me," says the pirate (Hany El Shafei). And together they fight the common enemies.

The sets were remarkable, with authentic designs that made one think they were in a real castle in Oman, a port and a wilderness. The missing princess, Haytt, the Secret of Life, was portrayed by Dana al Balushi, and it shows how local talent can benefit from productions made in the country. Just like the Omani folk music, oud was also incorporated into the production, performed by Nibras al Mullahi, a leading Omani oud virtuoso, and not to forget the Omani Opera Choir. A few children also had their debut appearance on the operatic stage.

The costumes were colourful, with the ruler in sober colours, Fairouz in the traditional colours of turquoise and pink, Princess Secret of Life in yellow, Sindbad in a white dishdasha and green bisht (cloak), and the minister in a black dishdasha and maroon bisht.

I was intrigued and wanted to get a closer look to see if Fairouz was actually wearing the traditional five-finger rings of Oman.

The wait for the princess, The Secret of Life, continues with the fragrance, and when the ruler is about to give up, a ship arrives, and she steps out to the joy of her family and the people of the land.

And hope is reborn.

The opera in two acts is composed by Hisham Gabr and the libretto by Nadeh Salah El Din. The first act is 70 minutes, and part 2 took 55 minutes.