The 2018/9 season at the Royal Opera House Muscat closed in style on Saturday with a uniquely Arabic creation. An original production by Opera Lebanon, “Antar and Abla” received its world premiere at the Casino du Liban, Beirut on July 8th 2016. It was performed in Muscat for two sold-out performances by the Orchestra and Choir of Opera Lebanon with musicians from the Opera Minsk Orchestra, seven soloists and forty child extras from Oman.
Most outstanding in Saturday’s performance was composer Maroun El Rahi’s 70-minute score for the opera, a musician of long experience. Maroun’s affiliation with Western classical opera composers Donizetti and Bellini was clearly evident in his delightful music, informed by a nineteenth century language with Arabic vocal inflections. The score was lyrical and accessible with overtones of Rossini, imbued with sympathetic vocal lines, waltzes and evocative instrumentation, especially from the woodwind and harp. It was conducted in the pit with confidant control by the eminent Egyptian Maestro, Nayer Nagui. The librettist, Antoine Maalouf, writes in Arabic and French and here kept the dialogue short and direct. However, something in the surtitles was lost in translation with some inconsistency between the action and text.
The whole production had been directed, choreographed and designed by one diminutive Brussels-trained Walid Ouni. His sets were minimalist and effective, using projections of the desert as background for a tent canopy without fuss or distraction, leaving the stage open for choruses of villagers or armies. There was no separate ‘corps de ballet’ in this production, which is a shame as dance troupes from the Levente always steal the shows at ROHM and the potential in this kind of historical drama was huge. It meant the male chorus doubled as dancing soldiers while women provided a commentary on proceedings in dance sequences. Colourful costumes designed by Raymonde Reaidy were a realistic reflection of the Arabic culture and heritage which inspired this opera. Finding nearly all the women on stage with uncovered hair was a surprising element, while the men’s period robes conjured up the tough endurance of desert life, giving an authentic sense of context.
The drama was set in the Arabian desert in a time of conflict between Antar and Abla’s Bani Abs clan, and the opposing Tayy clan headed by a ‘ruthless giant’. Their love and affection was not established at the beginning of the opera, however. Antar’s characterisation, sung by Bass Baritone Wadi Abi Raad, blackened up for the role, was wooden, while his voice unremarkable or unheard beneath the orchestra. Abla was performed with passion in the lovely warm timbre of lyric soprano, Lara Jokhadar, including some demanding high passages.
Other characters were unclear; Shayboub, as an expressive tenor (Pierre Samia) would normally have been the hero. Salma, played by mezzosoprano Monà Hallab, was clearly an important second female commentator, but who she was - confidante or wise woman – was not explained. One attractive character, though stiff in his stage presence, was the young tenor, Charbel Akiki as the arms dealer Amara Abs, providing some light relief. In Act One, there was a touching Trio between Shayboub, Salma and Amara Abs, dripping with metaphor and symbolism in its narration.
the power to arrest and seduce with its palpable passion. A dialogue about fighting a duel became the most memorable love scene.
Antar’s father was performed with impressive gravity by the experienced Bass, Ralf Gedeon, with ingrained prejudice in a role designed to be loathed. Antar is the son of Bin Shaddad, a distinguished warrior in his time, and an enslaved Ethiopian woman of noble birth. Antar’s father considers him to be a slave because of his colour and thus unworthy of Abla’s hand. Antar set out to restore his honour and claim Abla through a violent jousting tournament with Mared Tayy, emerging as the heroic victor. However, Shaddad is tricked by Salma and Shayboub’s scheming into believing that his son was killed in battle, and it is only when he thinks Antar is gone that he acknowledges his paternal bloodline to this slave-warrior. He admits that if Antar had been white he would be ruler of the Abs; ‘there are many colours in the world’ – a theme which ran through the drama. The clan tension is dissolved, local discrimination becomes a thing of the past, suggesting echoes of Omani heritage, and Antar can marry Abla. For the first time a bond is developed between the star-crossed lovers in the Grand Finale as peace, prosperity and love spread throughout the world.
This was a moving achievement in the quest for a patriotic masterpiece in the Arab tongue. As the first of its kind, one anticipates many more Arabic Opera projects to pick up where this one left off. ROHM patrons look forward to the announcement of its forthcoming season programme in mid-June with baited breath.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
