Musically speaking, the Capital is dancing to a tune all of its own at the moment. The Abu Dhabi Classics continues to underline the city’s cultural aspirations, its world music program remains a monthly draw at the Cultural Foundation, and this month sees Coldplay follow hot on the heels of Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi and Elton John in gracing the stage at Emirates Palace.
And when it was announced recently that the WOMAD Festival would be coming to town in April, it felt very much like the icing on the cake. It also threatened to overshadow one of the city’s more longstanding music events. However, it’s clear that the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival isn’t about to take this lying down.
For one thing, it isn’t all about the music, as Mrs Hoda Ibrahim Al Khamis-Kanoo, founder of Abu Dhabi’s Music and Art Foundation, is keen to impress. A passionate believer in the arts, Mrs Kanoo is an infectious character with a warm laugh and a generous spirit. She is also an enthusiastic collector of Islamic art, albeit by her own admission, a modest one. ‘If you put me in a place with no music I’m like a fish, I die. I can’t imagine life without art, without canvas, without sound,’ she opines, before turning her attentions to the lineup for this year’s festival, a stellar list ranging from the Bolshoi Ballet and Andrea Bocelli to Magid El Roumi and artist Dia Al-Assawi.
Certainly, festivals don’t organise themselves overnight. ‘It took about three to five years to get the Orchestra Bolshoi and the Bolshoi Ballet,’ Mrs Kanoo admits. It took them another three years to pin down Bocelli. Nothing happens overnight. I got a similar response when recently speaking to Till Janczukowicz, director of the Abu Dhabi Classics, who claimed to be booking acts up to six years in advance.
Mixing and matching schedules is the difficulty, it seems, not to mention keeping the acts happy. ‘To have Angela Gheorghiu and Jonas Kaufmann here together, at the same time, one of the finest sopranos and one of the finest tenors of our age; to get them together in March, in Abu Dhabi – yes, it is a challenge. Then to combine the West and the East together at the same time…’ Mrs Kanoo trails off, feigning a mad laugh before flashing a reassuring smile. There is no doubt who is in control.
But for all the money that Mubadala, the government investment fund backing Abu Dhabi’s events explosion, must have spent, the organisation of so many different personalities remains a feat of prestidigitation.
Mrs Kanoo is also keen to drill the words ‘education’ into me: teaching children the arts early on and instilling in them an appreciation for it is her abiding message. With that, she believes, comes the development of talent. She herself, although Lebanese born, had the benefit of an education in Paris before she came to the UAE. ‘Art is a treasure and it is a pity to keep it to yourself,’ she explains. Indeed, if passion and enthusiasm alone could lift Abu Dhabi to the heights of a cultural Arcadia, Mrs Kanoo has plenty to spare.
In the end, the sixth Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival looks set to plant another feather in Abu Dhabi’s cap, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. As the path to the city’s cultural venues become increasingly well-trodden by acts, visitors and residents alike, and the ambitious projects such as the Louvre, Guggenheim and Performing Arts Centre on Saadiyat Island near completion, the Capital once more looks to be laying down a cultural marker in the sand. So, what next?
City of culture
What other cultural events are happening around the city this month?
Emirati Expressions
Exhibition of over 160 works of art by Emirati artists, chosen over the course of a year. Emirates Palace, until April 16
Yamadu Costa
Accomplished young Brazillian guitarist, who has toured jazz festivals across the world. The Cultural Foundation, March 5, 8.30pm
Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic
One of the greatest orchestras in the world meets one of the greatest conductors. Jahili Fort, March 13, 8pm; Emirates Palace, March 14, 8pm
Abu Dhabi Book Fair
Guest authors, special lectures and the announcement of the winner of the Arab equivalent of the Booker Prize. Wall-to-wall culture. ADNEC, March 17-22
Migrant Lives in Contemporary World Cinema
Films from Adrian Caetano, Josef Fares, Yuksel Yavus and Carlos Iglesias are all screened at the Cultural Foundation this month. Baynunah Hall
The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival takes place from March 21-April 2. Visit www.admafestival.com for more information
Festival favourites
Opera Gala
Start as you mean to go on, and this all-star gala features the combined talents of world famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Angela Gheorghiu, backed by a Bolshoi Theatre orchestra conducted by Ion Marin. Yeah, but we bet they couldn’t do it whilst juggling goldfish. Opera Gala, Emirates Palace, March 21, 8pm
Bolshoi Ballet
There aren’t too many dance companies who have existed for over three centuries (since 1776), but the Bolshoi are unique in so many ways. They open with a gala mixed program, before continuing with their acclaimed production of Adolphe Adam’s Giselle. Divertissment: Gala, Emirates Palace, March 23, 8pm; Giselle, Emirates Palace, March 25-26, 8pm
Andrea Bocelli
It took three years to get him here, but the Tuscan king of the classical-pop crossover (and former lawyer) finally arrives in the Capital this month. Having sold 65 million albums worldwide, and dueted with some of the loudest (the only polite adjective we could bring ourselves to use when describing Celine Dion) singers in the world, he is perhaps the star turn of this year’s festival. Andrea Bocelli in Concert, Emirates Palace, March 27, 6pm
Magida El Roumi
Prominent Lebanese musician and famous composer, Magida is a powerful singer and campaigner for peace. Reportedly, upon broadcast of her song ‘Qana’, written in response to the Israeli massacre in Southern Lebanon in 1996, Israeli Embassies demanded seizure of its broadcasting because of its sheer power. Magida El Roumi: Concert for Peace, Emirates Palace, March 29, 8pm
Mathew Barley
The virtuoso British cellist has appeared everywhere from Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London to Hong Kong. Here he jams with the kids of Abu Dhabi. Mathew Barley Recital, The British School, March 30, 8pm
Latifa
An example of the curious variety of the festival is the appearance of Tunisian pop star Latifa, who will be singing the works of Naseer Shamma. Interesting fact: Latifa sang ‘Take Me, I’m Yours’ with British band Squeeze; she has also carried the Olympic torch! Latifa performs Naseer Shamma, Emirates Palace, March 31, 8pm
Trio Recital
Sir James Galway (aka Man with the Golden Flute), violinist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and cellist Nina Kotova (neither of whom have nicknames we know of) combine for an evening of musical delight. Trio Recital: Sir James Galway, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Nina Kotova, Emirates Palace, April 1, 8pm
Karim Said
Jordanian Said is something of a prodigy. At 10, he gave his first piano recital with an orchestra, and at seventeen, his composition ‘Quasi Concerto Grosso’ for Symphony Orchestra was premiered at the Royal Academy of Music, London (don’t you just hate precocious kids?). A great chance to catch an emerging talent. Karim Said Piano Recital, Emirates Palace, April 2, 8pm
Dia Al-Azzawi
Considered to be one of the finest colourists among contemporary Iraqi artists, although he has lived in exile in Britiain for the past 25 years. During this period he has built up a reputation as a compelling artist exhibiting extensively across Europe. Dia Al-Azzawi, Emirates Palace, Mar 21-Apr 2
