Latest news with #OneThousandAndOneNights
LBCI
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- LBCI
From Beirut to Moscow: Lebanon's Caracalla triumphs at Russia's grandest theater
Report by Cherly Abou Chabke, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi In Moscow, the cradle of classical arts, the curtain rose on a night that was anything but ordinary—on the iconic stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, Lebanon's Caracalla Dance Theatre made history with a performance that transcended language and borders. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi—whose name in Russian means "grand"—has long been a sanctuary for legends of ballet and opera. It has hosted the likes of Maya Plisetskaya, Galina Ulanova, and Mstislav Rostropovich. From the choreography of Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, to the enduring influence of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, its stage has seen the evolution of global artistic expression. Now, among those giants, a Lebanese name rose in lights: Caracalla. The renowned dance theatre brought the stories of 'One Thousand and One Nights' to life, not through words, but through the language of the body—fluid movement, rhythm, emotion, and mesmerizing costumes—all infused with the pulse of the Arab world and the spirit of Lebanon. Over three sold-out performances, five thousand audience members rose to their feet in a standing ovation, captivated by a show that needed no translation. With choreography by Alissar Caracalla, direction by Ivan Caracalla, and under the leadership of founder Abdel-Halim Caracalla, the troupe did not simply tell a story from the East—they brought the East to the Bolshoi stage. It was a tribute to Arab heritage that celebrated beauty without borders, a new chapter in artistic achievement where Lebanon stood tall among the greats. Following the resounding success in Moscow, the magic returns to Beirut. 'One Thousand and One Nights' will continue its run at the Caracalla Theatre until August 22—an artistic triumph that demands to be seen and remembered.
Arab News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Mona Khashoggi brings ‘Sinbad the Sailor' to life on the London stage
DUBAI: Saudi writer and producer Mona Khashoggi's latest production, 'Sinbad the Sailor,' was staged on Tuesday at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, blending traditional Arab storytelling with contemporary performance. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The family-friendly dance show was a vibrant reinterpretation of the legendary seafarer's adventures, inspired by tales from 'One Thousand and One Nights' and set in eighth-century Mesopotamia. The musical tells the story of Sinbad, who loses his fortune in a card game and goes on a journey to find new treasures. Along the way he faces sea monsters, wild adventures and magical caves. He meets a kind girl and together they find friendship, love and a way back home to Baghdad, where Sinbad inspires a young boy with his stories. Khashoggi, a long-time advocate for reviving Arab arts through international collaborations, emphasized her decision to work with a global cast. 'Because this is a dance show … I wanted the best ballet and contemporary dancers. My dancers are all professional from the Mathew Bourne school, English National Ballet and West End Musicals,' she told Arab News. 'My lead Mark Samaras is in 'Moulin Rouge.' My creatives are from the West End with awards. I wanted to push the bar high and introduce an Arab story,' she added. 'Mona Khash Productions is a British production. I always work and produce my shows in London before we tour internationally. London and the West End shows are the center and capital of theater in the world.' Staging Sinbad in London is part of Khashoggi's broader mission to spotlight Arab culture for international audiences. 'My work and passion is to revive our culture and bring it to a wider audience and international audience. My shows are educational and cultural. The dance and costumes are inspired by stories from '1001 Nights,' set in Mesopotamia 700 BC, during the era of Haroun El-Rashid and Queen Zubaida,' she said. Traditional songs were gathered from Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria, with the audience enjoying original compositions by Emirati composer Ihab Darwish. Director and choreographer Anjali Mehra, whose credits include 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and "Lord of the Rings,' said: 'The Middle East offers so many exciting social and celebratory dances. 'I was inspired by certain steps, foot rhythms, arm movements and stage patterns. With a mixed heritage cast, we were able to combine modern storytelling dance with classical technique and Arabic steps to bring 'Sinbad the Sailor' to life,' Mehra added.
The National
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
All-female UAE orchestra reimagines Scheherazade symphony in Lebanese mountains
The Ixsir Vineyards in Lebanon 's Jbeil Mountains played host to an immersive reimagining of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's 1888 symphonic suite Scheherazade this week, as the sun sank below the peaks and the stars emerged. Under the artistic direction of maestro Harout Fazlian, the classic was transformed into a unique orchestral-theatrical evening, joined by members of the all-female Firdaus Orchestra – an Expo City Dubai initiative – performing in Lebanon for the first time. Inspired by the iconic tales of One Thousand and One Nights, Rimsky-Korsakov's magnum opus was structured in four movements, each representing different stories and adventures that Scheherazade would spin for King Shahryar each night. Having been betrayed by his first wife, the king no longer trusted women, and took to marrying a new bride every night before beheading her at dawn. Through Scheherazade's wits and gift of storytelling, she dreamt up new adventures each night and left them unfinished, piquing his curiosity and delaying her death another day, as the king wished to know how the tale ended. While the essence of the music stayed the same for Fazlian's reimagining, actors Jana Abi-Ghosn and Jalal Marwan Al Shaar, who starred as Scheherazade and King Shahrayar, brought the tales to life with an original script penned by poet Henri Zoghaib. Solos and added musical segments conceived by Fazlian seamlessly blended the original concert with added theatrical elements, all of which were performed on a stage that floated over the grape vines, almost like a magic carpet. Across the tales of The Sea and Sinbad's Ship, The Tale of the Kalendar Prince, The Young Prince and the Young Princess, and Festival at Baghdad – The Sea – The Shipwreck, Scheherazade sought to convince the king that love existed and was worth striving for. The two engaged in debates – a more nuanced narrative than the original tale, which held more violent and threatening undertones, as the heroine was tasked with telling entertaining stories each night, or else. In this retelling, the king was harsh and jaded, but open to learning from the lessons Scheherazade sprinkled into the tales, offering a more convincing reading of the love that eventually blossomed between the two characters. In the last act, she even challenges him using the analogy of a boat being dashed on the rocks as his own fate – an unbendable vessel being tossed about by metaphorical waves of anger, righteousness and loneliness – beseeching him to embrace love and change. After he heard the rest of her tale, he admitted his love for Scheherazade. The choice to have an all-female orchestra felt fitting for a performance of Scheherazade, paying tribute to a clever and spirited heroine who was able to fight her fate through wits alone. Most importantly, the music was retooled for instruments from the region. Rimsky-Korsakov's composition was written for the western orchestra, whereas Fazlian adapted the music for a string orchestra with oriental instruments and percussion. It served as a subtle way to reclaim the fable from the more orientalist perspectives of the symphony's beginnings. The intimate stage and setting – devoid of painted sets or a grandiose formal theatre – brought the tale back to its cultural roots. The performance focused on the wonder of storytelling on quiet evenings, honouring a tradition still practised in the region. Surrounded by the verdant mountains backlit by the sunset, it was an easy feat for the show to transport the audience directly to the scenes Scheherazade painted with her words, making for a truly magical evening.
New York Times
03-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
A Modern-Day Scheherazade Weaves Her Story of Motherhood, War and Exile
I'LL TELL YOU WHEN I'M HOME: A Memoir, by Hala Alyan 'Since childhood, I've been aware of an audience,' Hala Alyan writes in her gorgeous, lyrical memoir, 'I'll Tell You When I'm Home,' which examines with a poet's precision the many ways in which storytelling is rooted in matriarchy, carrying messages between mothers and daughters as a means of survival. Playing Scheherazade in a high school production of 'One Thousand and One Nights' — a character whose 'reassuring maternal voice' quite literally spins tales to keep herself alive, 'lulling us into imagination' — Alyan recalls having to improvise onstage when another cast member misses their cue, filling the awkward silence with clever lines she's invented on the spot. The audience laughs, and 'the magic of the moment endured,' she writes, 'the suspension of disbelief unbroken. It mattered so much to me that I was able to keep them believing.' Alyan, the author of two novels and five collections of poetry, uses the figure of this archetypal storyteller as a framework for her memoir. Told in short passages that loop through time, the book is organized into 11 chapters named for the various stages of a pregnancy, from preconception to months one through eight to birth and postpartum. Slipping through her past and future selves, she braids together several timelines: her nomadic coming-of-age moving between Kuwait, Beirut, Abu Dhabi, Dallas and Oklahoma City, often in the shadow of war; her addiction and sobriety in her 20s; her struggle with infertility in her 30s and the strain it put on her marriage; her five miscarriages and her eventual path to motherhood through surrogacy. At its core this is a book about longing: for motherhood, for a return to the Levantine homeland that shaped her family history, for a sense of belonging in America that never arrives, for a personal unraveling that may or may not come, for a sense of safety in her marriage that never resolves. Alyan speaks to different versions of herself across time, as though every moment in her history were happening concurrently, were still happening, playing and replaying itself, even now. The story must keep going for its teller to keep living. That story begins in 1948, with Alyan's two grandmothers: Siham and her family are being displaced from their hometown of al-Majdal, Palestine, in the Nakba; and Fatima is the daughter of a sheikh in Damascus, Syria, which she will later leave for Kuwait, and then Lebanon. 'The story of the women starts with the land,' Alyan writes in a book that casts exile and war as her inheritance. 'What is landlessness that takes root, turns inward,' she asks. 'What is it to carry that lack, that undoing.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
