Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: The Royal Opera House Muscat is delighted to be launching the new season for 2022 - 2023. We return to a full and generous programme bringing more than fifty events and a grand total of ninety performances and cultural initiatives including six operas, nine Arab concerts, three ballet shows, nine concerts, two jazz stars, four world music celebrations, three spectacular shows, one permanent and two temporary exhibitions, and a rich schedule of educational and outreach events.
ROHM’S production of ‘La Traviata’ returns starring Plácido Domingo
The 2022 – 2023 Season begins in spectacular fashion with ROHM’s critically acclaimed production of La Traviata returning to the opera house following the premiere of 2019, with direction from the doyenne of grand opera staging, Marta Domingo. ROHM is delighted to announce the return to the opera house of one of our most honoured patrons and one of the greatest artists of our time, Plácido Domingo. As with the premiere, Domingo will perform the role of Germont on the opening night of the opera and will conduct for the following two evenings. The Domingo production claims a unique feature among others, that of the inclusion of choreography and dancers from the Compañia Antonio Gades, adding a passionate flare to a story already teeming with drama and love. New for our 2022 performance, we welcome two of the greatest opera singers in the world in the roles of Violetta and Alfredo : Nino Machaidze and Vittorio Grigolo. The production will be performed by the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova conducted, in occasion of the first performance, by the acclaimed conductor Giampaolo Bisanti (Sept 22, 23 & 24).
Five further stunning operas including Donizetti, Mozart, Rossini and Humperdinck
From the opera buffa of Mozart to the continuation of ROHM’s collaboration with the Rossini Opera Festival, the season has an appealing range of operas to choose from. Engelbert Humperdinck’s full original opera Hansël und Gretel, one of the most performed opera in the world, reaches out to family audiences and it will be performed by the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Donald Runnicles. (Oct 28 & 29). The fourth in the series of farce presented by ROF, La Cambiale di Matrimonio, showcases ROHM hand in hand with the most respected Rossini artists. Excitingly for opera lovers, this production will be the first performance of the Critical Edition of this opera, with changes based on extensive research of historic archived scores bearing Rossini’s notations. The production will be conducted by the young talent Alessandro Bonato (Nov 24 & 26). In January, we present Donizetti’s opera L’Elisir d’Amore, performed by Teatro Lirico di Cagliari conducted by Jordi Bernacer with a stunning all-star cast of Nina Minasyan, René Barbera, and Erwin Schrott. (Jan 5 & 7). Our final two operas, in February and May, are a pair of from Mozart, the popular Le Nozze di Figaro, with the historical Giorgio Strehler direction and performed by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala conducted by Sesto Quatrini and Così fan Tutte, for which we welcome Opera Australia, alongside the acclaimed director Sir David McVicar and the conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing.
An authentic Arabic Music programme strewn with stars
Kadim AlSahir is enduringly, unfailingly popular with audiences for his charismatic and engaging style, with this in mind he is scheduled to appear early in the season (Oct 13, 14 & 15). The Arabic programme is designed to encapsulate the season’s core emphasis on tradition, innovation, and talent: the Omani Women’s Day concert, featuring a surprise guest artist, an incredibly talented young star from Kuwait, carries on an ROHM tradition (Oct 17) while we celebrate a different perspective with Oman Traditional Music traversing the regions to explore a rich heritage in Omani cultural expression in music (Nov 14). The Royal Opera House Muscat is delighted to resume the series celebrating Umm Kulthum: an historic series paying homage to a legend whose legacy has brought joy to millions around the world: Kulthumiyat will feature Yosra Manouch and Mai Farouk (Dec 9 & 10). Award winning singer, Hussain Al Jassmi, returns to the opera house for the second time due to popular demand (March 2 & 3). During Ramadhan, Sufi and Inshaad is presented in three special concerts offering reflection and celebrating the season. Each concert brings a new group of musicians together, with the final concert starring the esteemed Lufti Bouchnak (March 30, April 6 &10). The packed Arabic programme is concluded with the last two nights of the season which will be performed by Assi El Hallani with Marwa Nagy, in a joyful concert suitable to round off the season (May 18 & 19).
A ballet superstar, a legendary classical ballet and Cairo Opera Ballet
The ballet genre is represented this season by three landmark presentations. The first sees Roberto Bolle, étoile at La Scala and ballet superstar, bringing Roberto Bolle and Friends, a gala ballet gathering the ballets stars of the world together to create new and exciting choreography of the highest standard (Dec 15 & 16). Cairo Opera brings a vibrant and colorful production of two stories, El Leila el Kebira, and Zorba the Greek (Feb 24 & 25). To round off the genre, Opera di Roma Ballet and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sergey Smbatyan present the world acclaimed classic tale of Giselle, a much-loved ballet presented with choreography paying homage to Carla Fracci, the late director of Opera di Roma.
A star-studded season built around a stunning collection of concerts
No less than nine concerts provide the backbone to this year’s season, delivering a range and choice of concerts which are the envy of performance houses around the world. The concert run begins with Homage to ‘The Swan of Pesaro’ with the Rossini Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Nikolas Nägele (Nov 25), followed by the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, alongside the stunning pianist Nikolai Kuznetsov conducted by Alessandro Cadario (Nov 28), with the year ending with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra starring Gile Bae on piano, conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig, a grand celebration of the conclusion of 2022 (Dec 31). The second half of the opera house season offers six further concerts exploring opera in Opera Hits with the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Lirico di Cagliari conducted by Gaetano Lo Coco (Jan 6); a special concert to be announced later in the season (Jan 13); an incredible ensemble of elite musicians in Costa Rica Virtuoso Guitars (Feb 2 & 3); celebrating Mozart with the incredible famous Baroque orchestra ‘I Solisti Veneti’ conducted by Giuliano Carella (Feb 17); welcoming the acclaimed artists of the ‘Accademia Stauffer’ All Stars Orchestra with a beguiling programme of Vivaldi and Piazzolla (May 5); and, the annual tradition of the Pipe Organ Concert, heralding the return of Wayne Marshall as both organist and conductor, with ROSO and ‘Boni Pueri’, the boys’ choir of Czech (May 13).
Two of the best Jazz hands in the world
It is a pleasure to announce the rescheduling of Chris Botti. Botti is a consummate musician and performer who remains the top of the chart as the best-selling instrumentalist of all time in the US. He blends jazz with classical music demonstrating unbelievable musicality (Nov 10 & 11). He is matched only in jazz stature by the legendary Kenny Garrett who graces the season (Jan 19 & 20).
Travel the world through music
The Royal Opera House Muscat has had global collaboration at the heart of its vision since its inception in 2011. The programme for 2022 – 2023 not only provides an incredible opportunity for audiences to explore the world through music from the opera house but it also enhances national relations between countries. In this season, we travel Japan and France in Military Music: Oman and the World (Nov 3, 4 & 5); Oman, Bulgaria, the Philippines and Brazil in Folk Music Festival (Jan 26 & 27). The ‘Global Music Ensemble’ explores a world of music without barriers between countries or music traditions (Dec 3). The star in the firmament is the incredible queen of African expressive music, Fatoumata Diawara, a sell-out performer who has taken her sound to all corners of the globe to great acclaim (Feb 9 & 10).
A show of inspiration
Shows which are brought to the opera house are unfailingly popular with ROHM audiences. For the new season ROHM is pleased to announce three distinctive shows each bringing a special dimension to the season. In October, the Compañía Flamenca Antonio Andrade, the Quinteto Cinco and three of tango’s most famous dance couples bring us the world premiere of Flamenco meets Tango, a cultural match with passion and flare (Oct 6 & 7). In an extraordinary production the Kataklò Athletic Dance Company brings us Carousel, a vibrant and sophisticated collection of an acclaimed repertoire of dance and musical theatre. Kataklò is known for productions of dazzling choreography and visual effects (Dec 22, 23 & 24). The final show of the season is Beyond Time, the Taiwanese production company takes us into another dimension, exploring themes of space and the solar system through drumming, acrobatics, and dance (March 17 & 18).
Exhibitions to marvel at
The permanent exhibition, Oman and the World: A Musical Journey, is a wonderful discovery of how the nature of Oman has shaped musical culture. The exhibition puts this in the context of world music, explaining and demonstrating how music has evolved and the powerful impact music has on people and communities. This innovative experience at ROHMA is there for all of Oman and audiences at ROHM to enjoy. To further enhance the season are two temporary exhibitions at ROHMA: Arab Divas, showcasing the lives of four great Arab divas, Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, Warda, and Asmahan. An exhibition of dresses, jewellery, and other personal objects as well as archive footage produced by the Arab World Institute in Paris (Nov 23, 2022 to Jan 5, 2023); and, ROHM Through Omani Eyes, a gallery of photos from Omani photographers and artists who have captured the architectural splendour of ROHM over the last decade (March 22, 2023 to June 15, 2023).
A place to learn and enjoy
The 2022 - 2023 calendar for Education and Outreach includes concerts on stage at the Royal Opera House of Musical Arts. These include Lunch Music Series in the Opera Galleria; Absolute Music Series in the Royal Opera House of Musical Arts; Pre-Performance Talks for major productions; Coffee & Dates with star artists; special school performances and two activity packed family days in Open House, as well as guided tours of both performing houses.
Make the most of your opera house!
The 2022 – 2023 season has been created with a broad audience in mind, with the intention to engage people across generations and inspire creativity with musical excellence. The season has been built to preserve and celebrate traditions from all over the world, showcase and engage with innovations from across the world of musical performance, and to promote and experience the huge talent which is being nurtured and demonstrated by the artists who grace the stage.
