The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) today unveiled details of the programme for the Season 2023/2024. The season, entitled “Stars, Legends, Dreams” is built from an amazing variety of shows, including four popular operas, eight exhilarating Arab music concerts and shows, four classical concerts, two extraordinary ballets, one jazz evening, two world music stars, and six spectacular shows. ROHM affirmed that there is so much magic to enjoy and so much inspiration to be gained during the new season.
The Barber of Seville begins the season in Gioacchino Rossini’s much-loved style, quick with wit and pleasing music. Join us on the red carpet to open the season with a stellar cast, the Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai, Intermezzo Choir, and the Omani Opera Choir, under the baton of Antonino Fogliani during 28 to 30 September 2023. The theme of comedy and mischievous trickery is continued later in the season with Don Pasquale, Gaetano Donizetti’s opera, a cautionary tale warning old men off marrying young wives!
ROHM will also welcome the Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Francesco Lanzillotta, with another line up of incredible artists taking the main roles during 14 to 16 December 2023.
By contrast, ROHM will witness the return of stunning co-production of Giacomo Puccini’s tragic love story, La Bohème, with Opéra de Monte Carlo. Emmanuel Villaume conducts the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana in a staging, which takes the breath away during 23 to 25 November 2023.
An exciting highlight is the new opera production, realized in collaboration with Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova and scheduled on 8 and 10 February 2024, of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten. The production is staged by Laurence Dale and based on the glorious comedy by William Shakespeare. While fairies and mortals mingle on stage, ROHM has created a special educational project for children to inspire greater connection to this literary giant.
From Antonino Siragusa as Count d’Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, and Sonya Yoncheva as Mimì in La Bohème, to Ambrogio Maestri as the eponymous Don Pasquale, and Sydney Mancasola as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the stars who are performing in the operas of our season shine very bright indeed.
Programming of Arab Music throughout the season gathers stars and legends in concerts that warm the soul and reconnect with history and tradition. The annual Omani Women’s Day concert will celebrate an incredible line up of female musicians, including Al Nour wal Amal Orchestra, the only blind all female orchestra playing classical music alongside Majida El Roumi on 17 October 2024. A scattering of diamonds will light up the season in solo concerts with Arab superstars, Majida El Roumi on 18 October 2023, Ragheb Alama during 1 and 2 Feb 2024, and Asala Nasri during 1 and 2 March 2024. Enjoy an incredible first for ROHM, as Asala is invited to perform her concert in the open air of the maidan, ensuring unprecedented access for a wider audience.
ROHM revisits legends in a special festival celebrating Mohamed Abdul Wahab’s place as one of the greatest musicians in the Arab music history. Enjoy a week-long series of events and exhibitions, combined with two unique concerts to pay homage to his life and work. Cairo Opera brings us the legend of Scheherazade from 1001 Nights. Our annual respectful Ramadhan series will take place in the holy month, with guests from Morrocco, Syria and Egypt lending their voices to the special moments of reflection. A unique concert opens traditional Yemeni music to symphonic orchestra arrangements in Traditional Symphonies – A Journey through Yemeni Music conducted by Mohamed Al Ghoom.
ROHM first orchestral concert of the season features the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, conducted by Michele Gamba. With pieces from Paisiello, Rossini, and Cimarosa, cellist Ettore Pagano will lift the concert to new heights on 29 September 2024.
To add to the big names that feature during the season, legendary Leo Nucci comes on board for a concert in homage to Maria Callas on 24 November 2023 and the best bass baritone of our age, Erwin Schrott performs a concert outside his usual classical repertoire, bringing Spanish song and dance to the opera house stage on 15 December 2023.
ROHM invites the audience to the opera house to hear the Pipe Organ Concert, the annual presentation which features the magnificent ROHM pipe organ front and centre with international organists, orchestra and choir further enhancing the concert on 4 May 2024.
A glorious epic contrasts with a romantic comedy in the two ballets which grace the season. The brilliant Bolshoi Ballet and Opera Theatre Company of Moscow will present Alexander Glazunov’s Raymonda (during 25 to 27 January 2024. The sweet romance between Lise and Colas in La Fille Mal Gardée, with its bucolic setting and farmyard characters is the perfect partner in the season.
Sergey Smbatyan will return to the opera house to conduct the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, with dancers from the Prague National Ballet during 6 and 7 March 2024.
The jazz concert with Randy Brecker and Igor Butman stands out in this incredible season. These two jazz artists are jazz stars, touring as a sextet to sell out shows all over the world during 11 and 12 October 2023.
With special pride for the ROHM vision for cultural enrichment and global breadth in programming, the opera house has added two artists at the top of their field in a national genre. Nishat Khan takes the meaning of musicality to a whole new level with the sitar, as the best musician of Indian classical music bar none in the world today during 9 and 10 November 2023.
Cristina Branco will fill the auditorium with the soulful passion of Portuguese fado, hitting notes and emotions that will stir audiences very deeply on 19 April 2024.
As always, the opera house strives to present a full and varied programme for every audience member to enjoy. For 2023/2024, there are six shows which will add a depth to the season, bringing in new and younger audiences, to begin building or develop further their love of musical performance. Annual festivals of military and folk music will take place on the outdoor maidans of the opera house and Royal Opera House of Musical Arts. In addition to these two extravaganzas, the Xi’An Acrobatic Troupe of China will present Swan Lake, a new take on the classical ballet to music from Tchaikovsky during 26 to 28 October 2023. The circus comes to town with acrobatics and breathtaking acts in Cirkopolis, in a show designed to get more family audiences to find their way to the opera house during 21 to 23 December 2023.
In the new year (2024), the stage will become an ice rink once again, for the world premiere of Symphony on Ice, a skating performance created especially for ROHM during 4 to 6 January 2024. The world-famous show Stomp! finally arrives in the Middle East, after a decade of performing sell out nights across the West End in the UK and Broadway in the US during 25 to 27 April 2024.
The 2023/2024 calendar of educational events includes two Open House days, where the opera house doors are thrown open to students of all ages to take part in workshops and activities. This year, we offer one entitled The Sound of Music on 16 December 2023, and one entitled Making Music on 24 February 2024. Each one creates opportunities to delve deep into musical performance from a new and exciting perspective with professional musicians and educators. Summer Camp and School Performances are features of the season, and the highlight for 2024 will be the events surrounding the presentation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where Shakespeare will inspire games, crafts, activities, and exhibitions all over the opera house.
The outreach programme will include Lunch Music in the Opera Galleria; Pre-Performance Talks for major productions; Opera Talks with artists in the music library; the Absolute Music Series; the new Open Air Movie Nights on the roof terrace of ROHM, and a special one-off concert entitled Desert Bridge on 16 November 2023 where Oman becomes the channel for sharing music and culture between ROSO and a Swiss orchestra.
ROHM Season 2023/2024 is further distinguished by a new pricing structure designed to encourage and enable wider audiences to access the arts. Major reductions to ticket prices add even more value to your experience.
Source: Oman News Agency