Damascus-SANA
From the center of the capital, Damascus, and through its most beautiful archaeological sites, its solid fortress in the face of wars, a message emerged from it today, in the language of the world, saying: “In Syria, the will of a people seeking peace is crowned with an ancient and authentic culture rooted in this generous land, transmitted by Syrian academic and international musicians through a classical evening.” An opera for the most important orchestras.. The Syrian National Symphony Orchestra.
The Damascus Citadel, which has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for 41 years, embraced lovers of classical music in an evening revived by the symphony troupe led by Maestro Misak Baghboudrian and the Army Music Ensemble, as part of the celebrations of the “Basa’adna Omrana” event for the Syrian people on the occasion of the victory of their constitutional sovereign decision in the election of the Syrian President, Dr. .
The Syrian musical creativity during the evening came as a mixture of world famous operatic compositions and Syrian national songs that we still memorize and repeat in our living memory because they were associated with major occasions and events that the Syrian land witnessed.
The beginning of the evening was with the Army Music Ensemble, which played the national anthem, after which the symphony began its program with the opening of the opera “The Barber of Seville” by the Italian composer Rossini, in which love triumphs after the conflict and is characterized by its own tone and calm rhythm, and it was said that “it will continue to be shown as long as there is an opera in this world” and in it The wind and stringed instruments harmonize in a delicate and fascinating balance. Then the expatriate opera singer Nabil Suleiman performed the famous song Figaro, one of the same opera that everyone knows, even children, which requires high vocal capabilities and elaborate technique.
The opening of the opera “The Power of Destiny” by Italian author Verdi moved the audience of the Citadel of Damascus to a pause with the self in its depth, complexities, struggles, serenity, multiplicity of feelings and emotional momentum, which were conveyed by the power of the stringed instruments of the orchestra.
Then the audience of the evening moved from “The Power of Destiny” to the music of “Ugarit”, which was inspired by its academic music composer, the accordion player, Wissam al-Shaer, and distributed by Mahdi al-Mahdi from a civilization that presented the world with the first musical note to light through a solo playing of the accordion as a star on a magical night. .
The atmosphere of Spanish flamenco came as a guest with a wonderful piece “Liber Tango” by Argentine composer Astor Piazzola, through a solo performance of the poet’s musician on the accordion, which added to the evening a state of interaction and harmony between the orchestra and the audience.
The orchestra of the French composer Bizet played three pieces: Farandol from the Orlysian sequence No. 2, the opening of the Carmen opera, and the bullfighting song from the opera itself. It came in the voice of Nabil Suleiman, which was characterized by enthusiasm and quarrelsome emotions and successive melodies.
The piece “Danzon No. 2” by the Mexican composer Arturo Marquins took us to the atmosphere of Latin music with its peculiarity and its repetitive and enchanting rhythm, with which the soul flies to unique worlds of enthusiasm and passion, to conclude the evening’s part of the international compositions with “Oh Fate” an introduction to Carmina Burana by German author Karl Orff, where he performs the choir The main space in her performance as it contains a deep philosophical and spiritual dimension.
The second part of the evening was dedicated by the National Symphony Orchestra to patriotic songs, which added to the concert a renewed euphoria in the hearts of the audience, joy over victories and the return of safety to Syria and its ability to rise from the rubble of war to return with the arms of its children more beautiful than the songs of the troupe, my love, and I am Syrian and my land is Arab and your banners are high oh Syria to conclude the evening with the Syrian Arab anthem.
Rasha Mahfoud