The multitalented Lebanese artist Marcel Khalife will play with the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra for two special concerts at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) on March 5 and 7, at 7.30pm, in which a new composition will be premiered.
Khalife, born in Lebanon in 1950, is an oud player, singer and composer who has been one of the most celebrated Arab artists in the field of musical composition in the last forty years. Accompanied by the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Lebanese Armenian conductor Harout Fazlian, he will make his debut at the Royal Opera House Muscat with a concert that will premiere his new orchestral composition The Symphony of Return.
The second half of the concert will feature Khalife performing some of his popular songs, including some based on Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s verses, accompanied by Al Mayadine Quintet with pianist Rami Khalife, accordionist Julien Labro, clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski and percussionist Bachar Khalife. The audience can expect to hear songs such as Mother (Umi), Passport, Tango and In Your Absence, It Rained.
“He’s an incredibly gifted musician and one of the most famous oud players. He is not just loved in the Arab world but he is highly respected and appreciated by fans in Europe, North America and many other places, too,” said Umberto Fanni, artistic director of the ROHM.
Khalife studied oud at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music from which he graduated in 1971. He is known for his amazing voice, magical music, and sublime artistic taste in selecting his respectful songs. His long artistic career has taken him all over the world. Khalife's compositions have been performed by numerous orchestras, notably the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra.
Al Mayadine Ensemble was founded by Khalife in 1976. Khalife has toured with them not just in the Middle East but across Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan.
