May 15, 2016 - The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) is pleased to announce its exciting new 2016-2017 Season: Excellence in Diversity. As the Royal Opera House Muscat celebrates its Fifth Anniversary on the 12th of October 2016 and commences its sixth year of operation, the ROHM will continue to offer a wide range of top quality Omani, Arab and international productions in many different genres – opera, ballet, concerts, jazz, musical, world music as well as shows from Oman, the region and around the world, along with special events, including productions designed specifically for the enjoyment families. This rich diversity of programs has become a hallmark of the Royal Opera House Muscat that is recognised all over the world. The new Season will commence on September 29th, 2016 with Roméo et Juliette, a poetic opera by French composer Charles Gounod (1818-1893) based on Shakespeare’s classic play and performed by the prestigious Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

Great Operas from Six Different Countries
The Season’s roster of six operas is presented by prestigious companies from six different countries – Principality of Monaco, Germany, France, Russia, Italy and Belgium. In addition to the opening opera, Roméo et Juliette, ROHM’s 2016-17 opera season includes a diverse array of works performed by world class opera companies. The selections include Wagner’s great romantic epic, Lohengrin, performed by the Festival Wels Wagner; Don Giovanni, Mozart’s serious yet comic tale of seduction and punishment with Opéra de Lyon; Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky’s fabulous lyrical 

opera, performed by Opera Stanislavsky Moscow; Rossini’s wonderful semi-comedic drama, The Italian Girl in Algiers with Opera of Florence; and, Bizet’s fascinating opera, Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) performed by Belgium’s Opéra Royal de Wallonie.

Domingo, Netrebko, Eyvazov, Keenlyside: the Art of the Voice
World-renowned singer and superstar Placido Domingo will sing in a gala concert accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bergamo and Brescia Festival conducted by Eugene Kohn and, on a separate night, Maestro Domingo will conduct the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra. This was a special request by Placido Domingo who wished to celebrate ROHM’s Fifth Anniversary with us in remembrance of the magnificent and historic Inauguration of the Royal Opera House in October of 2011 when he conducted Puccini’s Turandot and a concert with Roso.
Another opera luminary, the superb Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and the tenor Yusif Eyvazov will sing great arias from composers such as Verdi and Puccini. 

The renowned English Baritone, Simon Keenlyside will star in ROHM’s traditional year-end gala with songs from his fantastic hit album, Something’s Gotta Give.

Royal Opera House Muscat productions
In a significant and very exciting departure from past practice, the Royal Opera House Muscat has ventured into in-house production with two wonderful shows developed in cooperation with renowned international companies. 

Celebrating Oman, a spectacular in-house production open-air show, designed by Paolo Dalla Sega, dedicated to Oman’s modern Renaissance is dramatically articulated through storytelling with artists and performers from Oman and around the world. 

Made for families as well as for the general public, an opera show in coproduction with Palau des Arts Reina Sofia of Valencia, titled The Opera! offers a fresh take on the history of opera. The Opera! is staged by the talented director Davide Livermore 

and performed with stars from the Centre of Perfeccionament Placido Domingo singing well-known arias from the great composers. 

Arab Performances
The ROHM’s increasingly acclaimed Arab series will feature outstanding singers and musicians from Oman and the Arab World. Among the many highlights in ROHM’s series of eleven Omani and Arab productions are the annual Omani Women’s Day Celebration and the greatly loved Military Music spectacular with bands marching on the ROHM Maidan. This year, the Military Music concert is titled Oman and the World to reflect the inclusion of first-class bands from Georgia and South Korea.
Arab performers this season include the dazzling young Palestinian singer, Mohammed Assaf, who rocketed to stardom when he won the 2013 Arab Idol competition. Assaf will be accompanied by MESTO, the Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra. Arab Stars also include the virtuoso Lebanese violinist, Jehad Akl who will play evocative music in his haunting Oriental style and two concerts with the acclaimed Saudi superstar Mohammed Abdu. A spectacular production will conclude the 2016-2017 Season: Sailing through Time performed by the acclaimed Caracalla Dance Theatre.

Beautiful Ballets and World Music
Two beautiful ballets will grace the 2016-17 Season. Anna Karenina, a work that brings to life Tolstoy’s classic novel on the theme of ill-fated love, will be presented by the Eifman St Petersburg Ballet, while the greatest of all romantic ballets, Giselle, a tale of love, betrayal and the supernatural, will be performed by the prestigious American Ballet Theatre.

The ROHM’s World Music selections open with Music and Dance from South Africa featuring amazing performances of contemporary African-style street dancing. Stars include the famous jazz trumpeter, Hugh Masekela and the award-winning Mafikizolo duo, Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciz. Guitar-led mbaqanga (Zulu-influenced music) will be played by Mahotella Queens, a women’s band with remarkable vocal harmony and fast-paced dancing.

The Royal Opera House is also delighted to present Dhafer Youssef, the amazing oud player and singer from Tunisia who became a star in all over the world, with his unique style of music that combines influences from world music with Arab lyricism.

And also Ana Moura, an award-winning Portuguese Fado singer who performs in prestigious venues such as New York’s famous Carnegie Hall and also at rock concerts. Ana Moura has transformed the melancholic aspect of Fado, lightening it with elegance. This very popular top-of-the-charts international artist was invited on stage with the Rolling Stones to sing 'No Expectations” with Mick Jagger.

International Jazz
International jazz musicians are well represented in the coming season with four stars - Madeleine Peyroux, a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has been compared to Billie Holiday; and, Dee Dee Bridgewater, a Tony Award winner and thrice Grammy-winning singer-songwriter. Amir ElSaffar, a renowned Iraqui-American musician who plays the trumpet as well as Arab instruments and sings both contemporary jazz and traditional Iraqi maqam, will appear with the great Iraqi-Hungarian oud virtuoso, Omar Bashir.

West Side Story: The Musical
The Royal Opera House Muscat has a tradition of presenting great classic musicals – such as The Music Man and My Fair Lady – and this coming season will feature West Side Story, the famous 1950’s Broadway musical inspired by Shakespeare’s The Romeo and Juliet. The 1961 film version of West Side Story won ten Academy Awards and the signature songs remain at the core of American popular music.

Concerts
It will be presented one of the most admired works in all of classical music - Ludwig van Beethoven's greatest work - Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 known as The Choral. This masterwork work will be performed by the Italian RAI National Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir (Stockholm) under the baton of James Conlon.

An evening performance of one of the most popular chamber ensemble in the world - I Solisti Veneti - performing Baroque repertoire. The ensemble, conducted by Claudio Scimone, have been called “the Aristocrats of their art”.

One of the special highlights of the concert programme in the new Season is ROHM’s annual Pipe Organ Concert, which this time will present organ pieces from the four ages of music – the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern.

Family Events
Events expressly designed for families include a beautiful programme of Baroque Music on the theme of Nature featuring excerpts from music by George Friederic Handel and Jean-Fiery Rebel performed by the Orchestra de Lyon. Adding to the excitement of this family concert, the artist, Gregoire Pons will illustrate the music with live image projections on screen.

The Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will present a short and highly entertaining version of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

The virtuoso musicians, Igudesman and Joo will bring a delightful comic show called And now Mozart, introducing classical music in a highly entertaining and inspiring way. 

The special 'A cappella' concert with the amazing and innovative Swingle Singers is sure to be uplifting and unforgettable.

A gorgeous concert presenting the famed Four Seasons, Vivaldi’s beautiful violin concerti about Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter performed with I Solisti Veneti is complemented with a demonstration by Shayma Al-Mughairy, a very talented Omani sand artist who will surprise the audience with amazing designs created in the sand to the rhythm of the music performance.

Special Events
Celebrating Rohm’s Fifth Anniversary: The 12th of October 2016 is a milestone in the history of the Royal Opera House Muscat and in the cultural life of the Nation as it marks the Fifth Anniversary of ROHM’s Royal Inauguration in 2011. 
To celebrate this very special occasion we will open the doors for the public to join in the festivities with concerts, exhibitions, interactive events, pop-up features and much more! The exciting Fifth Anniversary Open House Days will be held in the month October 2016. The details of dates, times and locations of the events will be announced on ROHM website, ROHM social and printed media, starting from end of August.

“Coffee & Dates” with Your favourite Artists
In a new series called Coffee & Dates with Artists, audiences will be invited into an informal setting where selected performing artists, whether they are musicians, singers, dancers, artistic directors or choreographers, will share interesting experiences such as stories of their lives on stage and anecdotes related to the works they will be performing. Audience members will be encouraged to interact personally with guest artists. And, as a traditional Omani gesture of welcome, coffee and dates will be served to all who come. 
The details of dates, times and locations of the events will be announced on ROHM website, ROHM social and printed media, starting from end of August.