Damascus-SANA
A journey that spanned over 16 years, starting from the Umayyad Palace of Conferences, to arrive today with a new version of the Umayyad Square bearing the same title “from you and to you, Syria.” Its essence is the hosting of the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra for soloists and composers of musicians from Syria and abroad in one evening hosted by the Opera Theater at Dar al-Assad for Culture and Arts .
The new version of the National Symphony Orchestra project, whose idea was born in 2005, appeared in a distinctive way in the opera musical evening led by Maestro Misak Baghboudrian, in which the international expatriate baritone singer Nabil Suleiman from Belgium, the international expatriate violinist Bassam Nashawati from the United States of America and the oud player Maestro Adnan Fathallah participated. Organist Aghid Mansour.
The evening, which was characterized by the presentation of works by international authors, in addition to the participation of Syrian women in composition, singing and playing, was a meeting after an absence for the audience of Dar al-Assad with the organ, which is one of the treasures of the Damascus Opera House. The evening program began with a piece by author Charles Marie Fedor, “Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, Class No. 42 He performed it as a soloist. Music by Aghid Mansour.
Aghid, who is currently working as an assistant to the head of the piano department at the Higher Institute of Music, is one of the few music experts in piano, organ and harpsichord instruments at the Arab level. After graduating from the Music Institute, he participated in workshops with international players and professors from America and France, and held solo evenings in Syria and Lebanon.
International violinist Bassam Nashwati participated in the Syrian symphony in the evening through two solo performances of Beethoven’s Romance No. 2 and Gypsy melodies for the violin and orchestra by Pablo de Sarasat, during which he demonstrated the ingenuity of a Syrian player who graduated from the Arab Institute of Music “Salhi Al Wadi in 1987” and obtained higher degrees from American institutions And participated as the first violinist in international orchestras.
The Syrian part of the evening, with its mixed identity of tradition and modernity, was presented by the Symphony Orchestra through the works of Suhaib Al-Samman, “The Little Match Seller” and “The Whirlpool” by Assem Makarim, to be a solo playing session on the oud, accompanied by the orchestra of Maestro Adnan Fathallah, with the piece “So It Was” composed by Nahl. Graduated from the Higher Institute of Music and currently dean of the spirituality of the East and the sobriety and vitality of the Syrian melody.
With his operatic baritone voice, the able singer Nabil Suleiman took the evening's audience to the worlds of the mothers of Western operas, with his abilities comparable to what we hear from the great opera singers, especially that he chose two songs that are among the most famous and difficult works that allow the listener to easily compare Solomon's voice and others to present An international performance on the Syrian opera stage through the two songs “Aria Rigoletto” from the opera Rigoletto by Verdi and “Bullfighter” from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet.
It is noteworthy that the Damascus Opera House has officially embraced the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra since the beginning of 2012 as one of the most important troupes of the house, which presents continuous performances in it. The troupe previously represented Syria and highlighted its civilized face in Arab and foreign festivals and forums. It also revived the official opening ceremony of the Damascus Opera House led by Baghboudrian. Who has been the band's main leader since 2003.
Rasha Mahfoud
