THE JOURNEY

process that we have promoted since 2015 has allowed instead to move along a production path, firstly through the creation of new jobs for locals also in fields related to the stagecraft.”

Currently 76 per cent of the 222 employees of the Royal Opera House Muscat are Omani.

Fanni adds, “On the artistic and economic level instead, we have implemented the model of the co-production and nowadays we have acquired shares in 8 renowned international performances, with a significant financial return and worldwide image enhancement for the theatre.”

The road to being a ‘cultural hub’ is progressing, and the House of Musical Arts inaugurated last January is a further milestone. As global vision, the Royal Opera House Muscat will be a house to the great masterpieces, the Royal Opera Galleria will be a lively gathering spot for the community, while the new theatre will mainly have a local hearth.

The programming season will be primary focused on the Arab music and two new initiatives are on the way, to be opened in 2020: the first interactive musical library and a permanent exhibition, which will immerse the visitors in an active musical voyage from East to West.

Even Gianni Quaranta, the Italian award-winning maestro who is the ‘father’ of this Carmen, is pleasantly surprised to notice how the Omani people are this time taking part in the production.

I was honoured to sit for a while next to him in the stalls during the rehearsals and he kept pointing to me all the Omani extras on the stage. “I feel part of the history of the theatre and the sultanate – he remarks - and it’s a great joy to have returned to this fascinating country. We opened the road making available all our artistic skills to this cultural institution and I believe it is an important achievement for the country that the theatre is converting from multi-ethnic to local, in line also with the vision of the Sultan.”

When the Royal Opera House Muscat opened its magnificent doors, it was an overwhelming building but yet unfamiliar for the sultanate and to a certain extent criticised, perhaps for a resistance to less known forms of art or for the funds that could be deemed excessive.

But His Majesty the Sultan’s vision was once more farsighted, and today the ROHM is listed among the ten most prestigious theatres of the world and last season has attracted 42,000 visitors.

Doha, Dubai, even Jeddah are following the same route, showing how powerful cultural diplomacy can be. OF ROHM