Baalbek Festival returns from a two-year hiatus

Lebanon's esteemed summer extravaganza returns with a six-concert program, starting in Beirut

BEIRUT:

After a two-year hiatus due to political unrest, aerial bombardment and the like, the Baalbek International Festival returns this year with a program of six weekly, one-off performances from July 27 to August 23. As usual, the event will offer a variety of genres, from pop and "World Music" to opera and jazz to oriental and Western classical music.
With big names like pop sensation Mika, Mexican diva Astrid Hadad, opera singer Hasmik Papian, Brazilian jazz artist Tania Maria, oriental songstress Warda al-Jazayria, and Lebanese classical pianist Abdel Rahman al-Bacha, Baalbek's organizers expect to draw in more than 20,000 festival-goers this season.
The Baalbek Festival has a venerable history reinforced by its choice of venue. The ruins of Baalbek that host the concerts are the site of the Hellenistic-Roman city of Heliopolis - Baalbek taking its name from the Canaanite sun god, Baal.
Lebanese President Camille Chamoun founded the Baalbek Festival in 1956. Since then, the event has hosted a wide range of international, regional and Lebanese talent, from jazz icon Miles Davis and flamenco innovator Paco De Lucia to Lebanon's Caracalla Dance Theater. It has thus played a crucial role in promoting and celebrating trans-cultural performing arts in Lebanon and the region.
Pop sensation Mika will kick off this year's festivities with a concert on Sunday, July 27. Organizers have decided to break with tradition this year, teaming up with their erstwhile rivals at the Beiteddine Festival and events organizer 2U2C to host the opening concert at Beirut's Martyrs Square. Organizers say they're moving their opening night to Beirut to accommodate the large number of expected fans, though obviously the venue (the epicenter of the 2005 "Independence Uprising") reverberates on other pop-cultural levels as well.
A self-taught piano virtuoso with a four-octave vocal range, Mika, 23, is often compared with Robbie Williams, Scissor Sisters and Queen's late vocalist, Freddy Mercury. Lebanese-born but nowadays living and working in London the singer, songwriter and producer's debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion," set records in the US and Europe.
"My music is all about transitions," Mika explains. "Transitions are important, because everything gets destabilized, and that makes you question and re-evaluate everything. For songwriting, that's an endless source of inspiration."
In addition to the Martyrs Square show, Baalbek will this year feature five performances at the Temple of Bacchus . Complementing these shows, the ancient Roman Acropolis - estimated to have been completed near 2,000 years ago - provides the perfect milieu for Lebanese cultural nights.
Mexico's flamboyant Astrid Hadad is an emblematic cabaret performer. Known as a "traveling museum of popular culture," Hadad will enthrall audiences when she struts her stuff on August 2. The lure of her enigmatic voice and wild music, which range from rock, rumba and cumbia, to pure Mexican ranchero, have captivated audiences worldwide.
Her unique style is a blend of eccentric theater, Mexican imagery, plastic and popular art. With bawdy mockery, she pokes fun at the traditions, stereotypes, symbols, and political fundamentalism of Mexican and Latin culture. The costumes and settings are so surreal and outlandish, critics have described her performance "as the most provocative stage act since the Weimar Republic was in bloom."
On August 9, internationally acclaimed Armenian soprano Hasmik Papian will perform a mixed programmed of ranging from the German baroque to Italian romantic arias, accompanied by pianist Avo Kouyoumdjian. Papian has graced such prestigious operatic stages as New York's Metropolitan Opera House, Paris' National Opera, La Scala in Milan, and the Vienna State Opera.
Her repertoire ranges from Bellini's Norma, Mozart's Donna Anna, Rossini's Mathilde, Halevy's Rachel and Bizet's Micaela, to Puccini's Mimi, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Boito's Margareta/Elena, and Tchaikovsky's Lisa.
Brazil's Tania Maria Quartet will perform on August 16. Renowned for her intoxicating vocals and keyboard artistry, singer, pianist, and composer Tania Maria, drives this funky, grooving foursome. Her music is an eclectic fusion of Afro Latin pop; brimming with funk and native Brazilian beats like Choro and Samba.
Maria's deep and sultry voice, spontaneity, daring improvisations, and twisting melodies have made her one of the most widely admired jazz musicians worldwide. Her latest album "Intimidade" ("Intimacy"), is her 26th release.
"There is nothing sexual about it," Tania says of the album's title track. "It's just sensual! All artists have a very intimate relationship with their instruments; for musicians, intimacy is the moment of composition when you question yourself and are filled with wonderment. Intimidade also means opening yourself up to others and conveying your passion."
After her immense popularity and success in Baalbek at the 2005 festival, Arab diva Warda al-Jazayria will be back at the Temple of Bacchus to woo listeners on August 21. She will be accompanied by the Khaled Fouad Orchestra.
The Algerian War of Independence saw Warda, otherwise known as the "Algerian Rose," seek refuge in Beirut in 1958. She achieved widespread critical acclaim when she moved to Cairo, becoming one of the most famous and popular singers of the Arab world.
Warda has performed at venues like London's Royal Albert Hall, New York's Madison Square Garden, Las Vegas' MGM Grand, and Paris' Palais des Congres, and has played several film, television and theatrical roles.
The festival will end with a performance by Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman al-Bacha on August 23. Bacha has distinguished himself as one of the Middle East's leading classical pianists.
His program will include: Bach's "Prelude and Fugue" in C-Sharp Minor, Beethoven's "Sonata No. 14," Chopin's "Impromptu No. 3" in G Flat-Major op. 51 and "Sonata No. 2" in B-Flat Minor ("Funeral March"), Ravel's "Pavane Jeux d'eau," T. Bacha's "Oriental Rondo Nostalgia," and Albeniz's "El Albaicin," "Evocacion," and "Triana."