Muscat: The capital of Oman has a new landmark that is gaining local as well as international attention.
Every visitor to the iconic Royal Opera House in Muscat is sure to be awe-struck from the moment one steps out of the covered car park into the 1,050-seat multipurpose auditorium.
Spread over 25,000 square metres in the heart of the mountainous city, the imposing marble, gypsum and wood-carved Royal Opera House is expected to feature acclaimed performers from the world of opera.
Its inaugural opera was Franco Zeffirelli's production of Turandot featuring the chorus and orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, Italy, featuring Spanish tenor Placido Domingo.
The wheelchair-bound legendary Italian opera director Zeffirelli was in Muscat to oversee his spectacularly crafted opera that opened with a 300-plus star cast. The artistes performed three shows on a three-tiered breathtaking set of a Chinese imperial palace courtyard with a waterway staircase.
Zeffirelli felt that the Royal Opera House would bridge Arab culture with the great tradition of European classics.
"I have been dreaming about it [merging of Arab and European classics] for years and now I see it becoming a reality with the opening of the Opera House in Muscat," said the opera director, who became popular with his versions of Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew.
High praise
The octogenarian praised Oman for opening the a "magnificent" multipurpose opera house. "This is a masterpiece, a great achievement by Oman and I am grateful to you all," the jovial theatre genius said about the venue.
This opera house is the first in the world to be equipped with Radio Marconi's multimedia interactive display seatback system. The complex consists of a concert theatre, auditorium, formal landscaped gardens, cultural market with retail, luxury restaurants and an art centre for musical, theatrical and operatic productions.
Talking about the complex's multipurpose use, Geoffrey Wheel, Technical Director at the Royal Opera House, said: "It's a theatre, an opera house and, if need be, a cinema all rolled into one — there aren't many like this around." He added that the opera house can also screen 3D movies.
Talking about the state-of-the-art venue's capacity to handle massive productions like Turandot, he said that normally a large touring opera comes with an average of about 10 to 12 containers of equipment — Turandot had 22. "The entire prop and set is owned by Oman," he said.
"A new complete production facility, with stores for about 70-80 sea containers and also workshops for carpentry, metal, painting, costumes wigs and make-up is being built."
Wheel said that a proscenium and a column of three boxes — on either side — can be hydraulically shifted back (and lifted up) to convert the horseshoe shaped 850-seat opera into a 1,050-seat auditorium for concerts. The opera house's acoustics are such that it is nearly impossible to spot a microphone or a speaker. The sound that can be configured for either a classic proscenium theatre or a concert hall was crystal clear.
The opera house built with inlaid marble, crystal chandeliers and hand-carved wood also has an imposing pipe organ designed by Philip Klais of Bonn, Germany. "It is made entirely of wood and ornately hand-decorated with gold leaf and will most probably be used for a future organ concert or recital," Wheel said.
One can also enjoy a performance in any language because each seat has a touchscreen that lets the patron select subtitles in a variety of languages. "You can even rate a performance through the touchscreen panel," Wheel said.
The ratings are already very high for a series of shows lined up at the opera house. Domingo hoped this would entice more Omanis to follow classical music.
Star-studded performances lined up
- November 5: The London Philharmonic Orchestra and esteemed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.
- November 10-12: Milan's Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company presents the spectacular Giselle under the direction of Makhar Vaziev accompanied by the Academia Teatro alla Scala Orchestra conducted by David Coleman.
- November 17: Umm Kulthum: The Legacy, by Riham Abdul Hakim accompanied by the Selim Sahab Arab Music Ensemble.
- November 23: Magida Al Roumi.
- November 28: The adaptation of a fairy tale from the Far East, Shim Chung, by the Universal Ballet of Korea tells the story of a daughter's love and compassion for her blind father.
- November 30: Legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra take a musical tour of Harlem as seen through the music of Duke Ellington, a forefather of American jazz.
- December 17, 19 and 21: Royal Opera House Muscat's new production of Georges Bizet's dramatic opera Carmen, directed by Oscar-winning set designer Gianni Quaranta and featuring the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Coro Sinfonico di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, and the Coro di Voci Bianche de la Verdi.
- December 27, 28,29 and 30: The renowned Mariinsky Ballet presents Swan Lake accompanied by the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra conducted by Boris Gruzin.
- December 31: The Mariinsky Ballet returns in a special gala performance to ring in the New Year featuring three celebratory works: Fokine's romantic classic Chopiniana; Simple Things, a new work by Emil Faski, set to music by Avro Pärt; and Alberto Alonso's Carmen Suite, set to the music of Georges Bizet.
