ADDRESS BY

HE DR RAWYA ALBUSAIDI

CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OF

THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE MUSCAT

ROME

6TH NOVEMBER 2018

MAESTRO FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PRESS

Good morning,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this important Press Conference.

First, and on behalf of the Royal Opera House Muscat, I would like to thank Maestro Franco Zeffirelli for graciously hosting this event in his private residence here in Rome. We are privileged to enjoy a wonderful setting that suits the occasion; and we very much appreciate this collegial gesture, which furthers our friendship with Maestro Zeffirelli and enriches our collaboration.

Maestro Zeffirelli played a key role in the history of the Royal Opera House Muscat when he was commissioned to direct our inaugural opera, Puccini’s Turandot, a magnificent production which was performed by Arena di Verona to great acclaim in October of 2011.

At that time, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said conferred the Order of Oman, First Class, on Maestro Zeffirelli in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the launch of Oman’s new Royal Opera House.

I would also like to recognise the valuable diplomatic ties between our two countries and the many rich cultural contributions that Italy has made to Oman over past decades through cultural exchange, art exhibitions, design and fashion events; and, in recent years, with opera performances and fruitful artistic collaboration. Throughout the history of the Royal Opera House Muscat, the majority of the operas that we have hosted or co-produced are from the great Italian composers, most often performed by Italian opera houses.

We are holding this Press Conference to announce an important milestone in the development of the Royal Opera House Muscat.

In November 2020, the Sultanate of Oman will celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said who acceded to the throne in 1970, ushering in a period of remarkable progress in all sectors of Oman’s economy and society, known in-country as The Renaissance.

One of the great cultural achievements in Oman’s modern Renaissance was the establishment of the Royal Opera House Muscat in 2011 by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. His Majesty’s stated purpose was for the cultural advancement of the nation and to encourage world peace and international harmony through cultural exchange in the universal language of the performing arts.

While the Fiftieth National Day is celebrated in November of 2020, we will mark the tenth season of the Royal Opera House Muscat with performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, in a new production commissioned by Maestro Franco Zeffirelli. This will bring the Royal Opera House Muscat’s Inaugural and Tenth Anniversary productions full circle.

A little later this morning, the Director General and Artistic Director of the Royal Opera House Muscat, Umberto Fanni and the Vice President of the Zeffireli Foundation, Pippo Corsi Zeffirelli will speak about our special Anniversary production of Rigoletto.

I would like to conclude by again expressing our thanks to Maestro Zeffirelli for providing this exclusive venue; and by thanking everyone for joining us this morning.

We hope to see you all at the Royal Opera House Muscat in September 2020.

Thank you.