大象传媒

The first grand opera to be produced in Saudi Arabia has had its opening performance in Riyadh - part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plans to shift the kingdom into a new social era.

Zarqa Al Yamama is the story of a blue-eyed tribal matriarch with the gift of foreseeing the future in pre-Islamic Arabia.

The Arabic libretto has been written by Saudi poet Saleh Zamanan, while the music is by Australian composer Lee Bradshaw. Mr Bradshaw told Newsday that it had been really well received by the opening night audience.

"Everybody is visibly moved, and there's many comments from people saying that they never imagined seeing this story set in this way, but more importantly... they never expected to hear their language sung operatically."

(Image: The cast on stage performing new opera Zarqa Al Yamama in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in April 2024. Credit: Lee Bradshaw)