The best in arts and culture returns to the capital
The Abu Dhabi Festival returns next year with an expansive roster of ballet, opera, orchestral performances and even an intimate jazz show, says Saeed Saeed
Abu Dhabi’s premiere arts and culture event returns for its 16th instalment with an expansive programme.
The Abu Dhabi Festival, to be held March 7-30, will feature performances ranging from lavish opera and ballet productions to an intimate jazz concert. Much of the festival will be held at Emirates Palace.
With South Korea as the festival’s guest of honour, the country will showcase its fine arts talents through a performance from two of its most esteemed institutions. The Korean National Ballet will mark their debut Middle Eastern appearance on March 7 with their staging of Giselle, while the Korean Symphony Orchestra will appear the following night with acclaimed soloist and pianist Jae-Hyuck Cho.
After wowing audiences with an intimate recital performance at Dubai Opera last year, Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel returns to the UAE on March 15 to star in Puccini’s much-loved opera Tosca.
This year, the festival will take place under the theme of “culture of determination”. The event’s artistic director Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo says it is in tribute to the Special Olympics World Games, which will also run in Abu Dhabi during the festival, from March 14-21.
“Culture defines humanity and when it was decided that Abu Dhabi was to host the Special Olympics World Games in 2019, during the same month that the Abu Dhabi Festival was to take place, the connection was clear,” Alkhamis-Kanoo tells The National. “At the Abu Dhabi Festival we feel a strong affinity with them, in so much as we have also had to face and overcome challenges of our own, to build trust with the public, the government, and internationally, to enable us to get to where we are today.”
With 500 artists from 17 countries, the Abu Dhabi Festival’s strength is in celebrating cultural diversity, says Alkhamis-Kanoo: “Every year we challenge ourselves to bring an incredibly varied and diverse range of performances that crosses genres, cultures and disciplines.”
Tickets for all shows are available now from the festival website www.abudhabifestival.ae