Dubai Opera takes audience by surprise on opening night

Dubai - Khaleej Times Chief Reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr. shares his personal account of visiting the Dubai Opera.

'Spectacular' and 'unique' are just two of the words that instantly came to mind when I first set foot in the Dubai Opera, which swung open its doors to the public for the first time on Wednesday night.

After weeks of waiting, I was one of the very lucky (and very few) people who received word earlier that this week that I had successfully managed to get off the waiting list and was able to get a ticket.



Having gone to a number of the world's great opera venues in my life - the Vienna State Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and the Metropolitan Opera New York City - I arrived not knowing what to expect from this newcomer to the opera scene. Upon arriving, one thing became abundantly clear: Dubai's Opera is unlike anything I had ever seen.

The first thing that struck me was the building itself - a beautifully lit Arabian dhow, which sits in perfect harmony with the towering Burj Khalifa in the background, improving on what is already one of Dubai's iconic settings.

Even more amazing is the interior and its wood detailing, which, in an ode to the Gulf's maritime history, give the inside the same nautical feeling as the exterior. Even more impressive is the acoustics, which - through a series of towers and reflectors throughout the building - are perfect.

I was not the only person who was pleasantly surprised at how marvellous the venue had turned out.


"We often feel that Dubai cannot surprise us any more, but then they pull something like this out of their hat," said Sherna Niahalani, a Mumbai-born expat who was raised in Dubai. "We're amazed all over again. It's wonderful to be a part of something so big in a city that we already are so in love with."

"It just shows you how versatile Dubai really is, and how much Dubai has to offer," added Sherna's husband, Vikash. "I think that that just looking at the lineup of all the acts that are coming to perform over here, it's outstanding.Dubai has done really well for itself."

The performance was everything you'd expect from the venerable, 79-year old Placido Domingo, covering everything from the timeless classics of Richard Wagner and Verdi to 'West Side Story' and 'My Fair Lady'.

A particularly memorable part of the evening was his rendition of the famous 'Besame Mucho' (or 'Kiss me generously'), which was first penned by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velazquez in 1940. In what is an uncommon scene in opera houses around the world, the crowd in Dubai joined in, making for a lively and festive atmosphere.

The real benefit of the Dubai Opera, however, is what is means for Dubai itself.



Too often, I've been told by uninformed friends and colleagues abroad - most of whom have never been to Dubai - that the emirate "lacks culture", irritatingly insistent in their belief that it only has shopping malls, supercars, seven-star hotels, beaches and endless sand dunes to offer.

Hopefully, the opening of the Dubai opera will this ignorance to rest once and for all. Dubai will now stand among the world's great cities, which will be further strengthened on a countrywide level across the UAE as new museums and venues - the Guggenheim and Louvre come to mind - are opened.

Addressing the roaring crowd on Wednesday evening, Placido Domingo highlighted the benefits of the Dubai Opera as nobody else could.

"It (Dubai) is a great city that has been growing and growing and growing, and I think that culture is an essential part," he said. "This is something for which all of you should be grateful, for your families, for the children, to be able to enjoy music or any art that the children should learn."

How the future of Dubai and the UAE's cultural landscape is yet to be seen. But for now, all of us in the UAE should take this remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part as witnesses to the beginning of that transformation.

bernd@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai