Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Muna AlHussein, and through the initiative of Soprano Zeina Barhoum, the Amman Opera Festival, the first of its kind in the Arab world, has been inaugurated at the Roman Amphitheater with a performance of La Traviata and the participation of artists from more than 10 countries.

The performance was attended by a large audience, most notably HRH Princess Muna AlHussein, and from the entertainment world Rakeen Saad, Tima Shomali, and director Rifqi Assaf.

Through this initiative, Zeina hopes to expound on the opera culture that has been emerging in Jordan and the Arab world, in addition to trying to inspire the idea of constructing an opera house that would be built specifically for that purpose in Amman, in line with what has already been achieved in other Arab countries, such as Oman and the UAE.

The opera performances will feature over 150 International musicians and dancers from more than 10 countries, starring 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 talent and musicians, The Batumi Opera House Choir led by Conductor Lorenzo Tazzieri and directed by Luigi Orfeo. The Sandro Pertini School of Music in Genoa, Italy, headed by Alessandro Cavanna, contributed to the translation of the opera into English through Erica Marrone, a student at the school, who translated the opera under the direction of her teacher Monica Baracchini.

Amman Opera Festival is supported by Greater Amman Municipality, with the Strategic Partnership of The Ministry of Tourism and Jordan Tourism Board, Embassy of The People's Republic of China, Embassy of Italy and Embassy of Georgia in Jordan with Royal Jordanian Airlines as the official carrier. The official sponsoring hotels include Marriott, Rotana Towers, Arjaan Rotana, The Sheraton and Crowne Plaza.

La Traviata in Amman will be on the 22nd of July, 2017 starting at 8:30 pm. Doors open at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be found at: www.karasi.com and at Amman Opera Festival's ticket booth at Cozmo in Amman, Jordan or call: 00962777980081 or 0096265515383