The Amman Opera Festival Concludes its Second Edition

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Following the Resounding Success of the Inauguration

The Amman Opera Festival Concludes its Second Edition

The second edition of the Amman Opera Festival, which was held under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein, concluded its events with a closing ceremony held at the Roman Amphitheatre with a full operatic production of the opera La Bohéme for the second time, following the successful first production held during the opening of the festival.

The closing ceremony was attended by several public figures and socialites, including HRH Princess Wijdan Ali; HRH Princess Noor bint Asem; Mr. Yousef Al Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman; Lina Annab, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, as well as the Ambassadors of Ukraine, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Brunei. The event was also attended by a number of social media stars.

The first ever opera festival in the Arab world presented a full operatic production of the opera La Bohéme. Starring Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum as Mimi and Max Jota as Rodolfo, the opera La Bohème's leading roles, and the performance also featured principal singers from Georgia and Italy. They were accompanied by The Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of the festival's artistic director and conductor, Lorenzo Tazzieri, along with choir singers from Jordan, including Jordan's children's choir Nai, alongside the Repton New English School choir, which opened the festival. The opera is directed by Deyan Proshev from Macedonia.

Gates opened at 7:00 PM and the show began at 8:00 PM. Doors had opened for the public at 6:00 PM in the Piazza, which is closed off for the Festival, in front of the theatre, where guests enjoyed a pizza, gelato, a cup of coffee and a knafeh!

The first edition of the festival was launched in 2017 featuring a full operatic production of Verdi's La Traviata held at the Roman Amphitheater in Downtown Amman. Alongside over 150 international musicians and dancers from more than 10 countries, the show starred Zeina Barhoum as Violetta, Andres Versamendi as Alfredo, Simon Svitok as Germont and Ady Naber as Gastone, accompanied by the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring musicians from La Scala and local talents and musicians, and the Batumi Opera House Choir led by Conductor Lorenzo Tazzieri. The show was directed by Luigi Orfeo.

Zeina Barhoum's motivation behind this initiative is to plant the seeds towards growing the opera culture in Jordan and the Arab world, and perhaps inspire the building of a purpose-built Opera House in Jordan's Capital, Amman, joining the company of other Arab states such as Oman and the UAE.