Go around the world in nine concerts at the Royal Opera House Muscat

Estrella Morente, a singer from a musical family whose father was famous in Spain, will present a mix of flamenco songs and other Spanish songs at Royal Opera House Muscat. 

Muscat: It may be called an opera house, but as the World Music programming at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) reveals, there is much more than opera on stage. In fact, the venue will introduce people to music and dance from many places around the world.

The 2014-2015 season includes nine concerts in the World Music genre with music from places as diverse as Benin, Iran and Mexico, as well as a week-long flamenco festival. These concerts will bring not only diverse songs and dances, but the artists are among the best their countries have to offer. 

The World Music concerts kick off with a week-long flamenco festival from November 19 to 24. There will be a free symposium on the 19th, followed by five evenings of flamenco music and dance from Spain featuring four different artists and ensembles. 

 

"They're all totally different artists. I really hope people will come to all four. They're all fabulous and extremely energetic, creative, kind of mysterious, and it's a mixture of the Arab origins and the gypsy influences in Spain," Scheppelmann said of the concert.

The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company will showcase traditional flamenco with its infectious stomping rhythms fused with West African music and dance from Senegal and Guinea. 

Estrella Morente, a singer from a musical family whose father was famous in Spain, will present a mix of flamenco songs and other Spanish songs. Her voice is packed with emotion and power.

"The other groups are various degrees of pure flamenco. We know that flamenco is popular here so we have decided a mini-festival would be good," Scheppelmann added.

 

Those interested in more traditional flamenco won't want to miss the Miguel Vargas Flamenco Dance Theatre, which will explore the past 150 years of flamenco history, and Tomatito, a guitar-playing Spanish legend who has won two Latin Grammy Awards for his passionate music.

The ROHM will then go from Spain to one of its former colonies, Mexico, with a concert by Eugenia León, one of the most renowned Mexican singers, who will take to the stage on December 6. Her career has lasted over 30 years and she has released more than 25 albums. Her music brings both the upbeat, energetic Latino spirit, and a touch of romance and melancholy. 

 

"Eugenia León is probably the most famous sing of traditional Mexican songs. She does them in a wonderful style with great delivery. If you have a career for so many decades, that is the proof of great musical quality, a good personality, and always offering your fans something new at a high level," noted Scheppelmann.

Last year the ROHM audiences were thrilled with singers from Africa. Senegalese legend Youssou N'Dour packed the theatre, while newcomer Dobet Gnahore from the Ivory Coast was a delightful surprise. On January 21 it's Benin's Angelique Kidjo who will probably bring the house down with her music vibrant, upbeat, catchy rhythms, and powerful, strong voice. 

"What we have here is a grand dame of African music. This is not a newcomer. Angelique Kidjo is a fabulous great star of African music and I'm very happy that she's coming," said Scheppelmann, adding that she expected Kidjo's concert to be very successful, too.

Two of the groups that Scheppelmann is really excited about are both from Iran. Rastak, one of the most well-known contemporary Iranian folk bands, will play on May 7, and  The Passage, a collaboration featuring singer Mohammad Motamedi and composer Ali Ghamsari and their classical Persian sounds, will perform two days later on May 9.

 

"The musical quality, the joy of playing, the artistry and the style, the mix of traditional Persian music and other styles, and the use of all those traditional instruments in such an energetic way, I just loved it. I hope it's going to be enjoyable for the audience here, too," she recalled.

The World Music series will also conclude the 2014-2015 ROHM season with a percussion extravaganza, the International Rhythm Festival, on May 19, 21 and 23. It will bring together drummers from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East who will combine their sounds and rhythms. Whether they use their bodies, instruments or tap on the floor with their feet, they will highlight the many ways to create percussion beats.

 

"We want to show a whole range of how you can create rhythm sounds and excite an audience. When it's the end of May and already hot outside, you can come into the cool opera house and then feel the heat of the rhythm and percussion," Scheppelmann said.