CONCERT – OPERA
WHEN THE ORIENT INSPIRES FRENCH OPERA
Rémi Van Sam, Mahkame Navabi
France, Iran
Friday 19 June 2009, 9:00 pm
Assembly Hall, American University of Beirut
The influence of Oriental culture and imagination in French opera is a musical contribution that covers the period from 1861 to 1921, for the audience to listen to great internationally-renown composers: Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod, and to other unjustly forgotten musicians whose works deserve to be rediscovered: Reyer, Nouguès, Massé, Dubois…
Surrendering more often to a sudden impulse than to a real fad of the time, the concert celebrates with sincerity and enthusiasm the magic of Oriental nights, local stories and legends, the beauty and nobility of Arab women, and the courage and authority of the men in the desert and brave warriors.
Arts are born from cross-border exchanges and dialogue, and the works that are hence produced carry the values of respect, esteem, mutual understanding, and eternal friendship.
Passionate about the French lyrical legacy, Rémi never quit during the last ten years making documentary research, collecting rare opera scores and studying many forgotten composers and works.
In parallel to his work as a lyrical singer and music researcher, he started a fruitful and regular collaboration as a writer-librettist with Fiorella Sanguinetti, a Master of music who graduated from the greatest academies in Italy.
He has just finished writing the booklet of a new opera on the life of a famous and mysterious Egyptian queen, « Hatshepsout, Queen and Pharaoh », whose mummy was discovered in 2007 and whose mythical temple of Deir el Bahari remains one of Egypt’s main attractions.
The Phou Theatre is one of the first independent theater companies in Tunisia. Founded in 1980, it is directed by Raja Ben Ammar and Moncef Sayem.
Phou, means ‘mouth’, and is one of the five irregular words in literary Arabic. Its phonetic sense in French is an asset.
Their first work focused on puns, as a last apparent indication of our mental structure.
This initiative has led, throughout three works, to questions about the body.
The Phou Theatre has already shown 22 works.
It has been (and still is) programmed in the most illustrious festivals and events in many countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America (Cairo , Damascus , Jordan , Palestine , Lebanon , France , Italy , Portugal , Germany , Venezuela , Colombia …. ).
The shows have always been intense moments crowned by many national and international prizes and awards.
The Beirut Spring Festival is a free of charge annual arts and culture programming that celebrates freedom and renewal in Beirut, in memory of Samir Kassir.
All Rights Reserved, Beirut Spring Festival.