Lebanon holds Baalbek concert without audience to spread hope
BAALBEK, Lebanon — For the first time ever, Lebanon on Sunday hosted its annual music festival in the ancient northeastern city of Baalbek without an audience, a move organizers dubbed “an act of cultural resilience” to the global coronavirus pandemic as well as the country’s unprecedented economic meltdown.
Held amid soaring Roman columns, the Baalbek International Festival was founded in 1956.
This year, it’s being broadcast on local and regional TV stations and livestreamed on social media in an effort to spread “unity and hope.”
“We could not have an audience, since it is impossible to bring 2,000-3,000 people to Baalbek amid the coronavirus precautions, so we decided to bring Baalbek into people’s homes,” Nayla de Freige, the festival’s president, told the local LBC TV station.
The concert with 150 musicians and choral singers opened with the national anthem followed by “O Fortuna” from the cantata “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff. It included a mix of classical music, including Beethoven and Verdi, as well as tunes from Lebanon’s Rahbani brothers composers and beloved Lebanese singer Fairouz.
Lebanese watching the 55-minute show at home posted nostalgic sentiments on social media about bygone days that have been replaced by an economic crisis and growing poverty and hunger.
“It is as if we are saying farewell to the Lebanon we knew and dreamed of,” said economist and political activist Jad Chaaban on Twitter.