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From jazz to classical, sitar music to contemporary dance, from ballet to opera, the ninth Abu Dhabi Festival(March 11 – April 16) will connect cultures, while exploring the past, present and future of artistic expression.Festival highlights include:
Monday, March 19: One of the greatest contemporary sitar players, Anoushka Shankar, perform music from her latest album and ‘Traveller’ world tour in an evening of Raga-Flamenco music. Tuesday, March 20: The acclaimed UK theatre company Globe Education at Shakespeare’s Globe returns with another thrilling play and workshop series: Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Thursday, March 22: The festival has commissioned an Arab world premier when one of the world’s most dynamicviolin virtuosos, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Maxim Vengerov will perform a spectacular repertoire accompanied by Russia’s oldest symphonic ensemble and conducted by award-winning Yuri Temirkanov in ‘Resplendent Russia’. Saturday, March 24: Specially commissioned for the festival, Nasser Shamma, the oud master of Iraq, will team up with The Global Music Ensemble bringing together musicians from Italy, Spain, USA, Greece and Colombia for an audacious journey in unifying the power of music. Monday, March 26: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Antony Gormley / Szymon Brzóska with Monks from the Shaolin Temple’perform a stunning blend of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and contemporary dance brought to the festival through London’s illustrious Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Tuesday March 26, Wednesday March 27 / Sunday April 1 / Tuesday April 3: A four day screening of Wagner’s Ring Cycle will compris all four of The Met’s 2010 and 2011 productions of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Friday, March 30 / Saturday March 31: Dresden’s famous Semperoper Ballet teams up with NDR Radiophilharmonie (Hannover) to perform ‘La Bayadère’. Set in ancient India, this typically romantic story speaks of love, jealousy, intrigue, murder and revenge and features ‘The Kingdom of the Shades’ – one of ballet’s most famous scenes. Monday April 2: The Royal Opera performs ‘Beloved Friend’, an Arab World Premiere telling the story of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsk and his patron Nadezdha von Meck. Features the music of Tchaikovsky and dancers from the Royal Ballet. Wednesday April 4: The nine-time GRAMMY award winning singer, songwriter and performer Natalie Cole, daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, making her Middle East debut. Friday April 6: ‘Fadel Shaker in Concert – A Night of Legends’, featuring a selection of the songs and music of Lebanese legend Shaker. Tickets are available at www.itp.net/tickets/admaf-2012 and through the Abu Dhabi Festival ticket hotline number
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‘Connecting Cultures’
