Tuesday, May 28: This afternoon my friend Kathy invites me at the last-minute to go to The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) to see an amazing show put on by a Lebanese company, Caracalla Dance Theatre. The show, called Kan Ya Ma Kan, (Once Upon a Time) is filled with music, energetic dancing, and colorful exotic costumes. Sadly, no one is ever allowed to take photos of performances at the Royal Opera House, so I’m unable to show the dazzling and exotic costumes and sets that made this performance so stunning.
Kathy had originally planned to go with someone else who cancelled on her. I had made no plans to attend any more shows at the Royal Opera House before I left Oman, so it was a lovely surprise and an amazing farewell to the Arab world.

Royal Opera House Muscat
Kan Ya Man Kan is a trilogy that features old Arab tales and folklore, told through dance — choreographed by Alissar Caracalla — and some narration, combined with European music performed by the Armenian State Opera and Ballet Theatre Symphony Orchestra (Times of Oman: Arabian tales to be told at ROHM). According to the program, the orchestra was conducted by Maestro Mohamad Reza Aligholi and blended with the melodies of oriental instruments.

The Royal Opera House from the garden
The first part used Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s music Sheherazade and focused on King Shahryar. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, this orchestral work combines two features typical of Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colorful orchestration and an interest in the East (Wikipedia: Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)).
It then moved to Maurice Ravel’s music Bolero. The story was about a cunning wizard in an oriental market. This is my favorite part of the performance with its traditional Arab souq as a backdrop and exotic costumes in jewel tones of purple, royal blue, fuchsia, turquoise and pink. The costumes were stunningly made in mixtures of silks, chiffons, satins and velvets in mixed patterns, giving them a gypsy-like and bohemian feel. The dancing in this part was so amazingly choreographed that I just sat in awe of the colorful extravaganza.

Plumeria (aka Frangipani) in front of the Royal Opera House Muscat
The third and final part used traditional Arabic Heritage music and explored the cultures of the Arab world, including a tribute to Oman. The guest star singer for this part was Hoda Haddad, sister of the famous and widely respected Lebanese singer Nouhad Wadi Haddad, known as Fairuz. During Ms. Haddad’s songs, flashes of Oman’s famous landmarks (Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Al Alam Palace, Nakhal Fort, and many others) appeared on the screen behind, bringing enthusiastic applause from the audience.
- Royal Opera House Muscat
This production was adapted from the original, which premiered last summer in Lebanon, to fit the ROHM and was inspired by the building itself, explained Ivan. “This is like the first opening because the show changed. It’s inspired by the architecture of the opera house. It’s tailor-made for Oman,” said Ivan (Times of Oman: Arabian tales to be told at ROHM).

Royal Opera House from the gardens
According to Times of Oman, Caracalla Dance Theatre is based on the concept of fusing Eastern and Western traditions. Its founder, Abdel-Halim Caracalla, studied under the American dance legend Martha Graham, so the choreography is more international, as are some of the music choices. The music, however, has been adapted to include traditional Arab instruments like the oud, kanun, Arab percussion, and ney (Times of Oman: Arabian tales to be told at ROHM).

Royal Opera House Muscat
According to the performance details on the ROHM website: Ivan and Alissar maintain the cultural message of the Caracalla Theatre by transforming the Arab Heritage into an international art form with its dominant presence in the world of dance theatre.
Alissar is the founder of Studio Caracalla “L’Art de la Danse” and of the “Orientalist Dance Company”. She brings an innovative spirit to the unique Caracalla technique, to become the flame of present and future of the Arabic culture with her creative style in choreography, to amalgam the expression of the east and west in a unique dance style based on the Martha Graham technique.

Inside Royal Opera House Muscat
This outstanding performance includes the guest participation of leading acting and singing stars of Lebanon including Hoda Haddad, Joseph Azar, Rifaat Torbey, Gabriel Yammine, Simon Obeid, and Toni Aad (ROHM: Performance Details).

leaving the Royal Opera House after the performance
Much of the performance harkened back to the days of Sultans and harems, and some of the sets made me think of Topkapı Palace, a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign (Wikipedia: Topkapı Palace).
The performance made me wonder what happened to the exotic and sensual Arabian world of old, which today, at least in Oman and other Gulf countries, has been turned into a cloistered world of white dishdashas and black abayas.
What an incredibly beautiful building – and grounds – the opera house is. The white against the blue sky, and then the lights glowing in the dark of night! Marvelous!
Thanks Carol. I’m lucky I got to go one more time. It really is such a beautiful building and venue. 🙂
Absolutely stunning!!
Thanks Cee. It was a shame I couldn’t take pictures of the performance!
Seems like this was a fitting venue for a great performance Cathy! Lucky you 🙂
Thanks Madhu. Yes, I was very lucky to have been able to attend this performance. 🙂
A beautiful place.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Yes, it really is, Francine. 🙂
What a stunning building – inside and out. I hope the music was as impressive…
The music and dancing, and the costumes, were fabulous! 🙂
Your account of the opera more than made up for absence of pictures, Cathy. so glad you could see this production before you leave. It sounded like a first class production.
It really was amazing, Lynne. What a lucky thing to see this production, especially as it was based on Arabic folklore. Great goodbye to the Arab world. 🙂
WOW!!!
Amazing!
Thanks so much, paranoiasnfm. 🙂
OH MY! LUCKY YOU and the lighting in your photos is wonderful!
Thanks so much, Kathryn. It really was so lucky I got to go!
Beautiful images to tell the tale even if you couldn’t get the costume shots. 😀 Your flower tree is a Plumeria (aka Frangipani). They are prolific in Hawaii and have the most amazing scent – one of my all-time favourite blossoms! – Suzan –
Thanks so much for telling me the name of the flower, Suzan. I’ll have to correct it on the picture tag. I’m glad you like my pics of the Opera House. 🙂
The Opera House was still being built when we were in Muscat. Isn’t it beautiful.
Yes, it’s really beautiful, Carol. If you make it back here, I highly recommend attending a performance there. 🙂
Sounds fabulous! I’m having a bit of a catch up, Cath. I don’t think any of these have appeared in my Reader, or maybe I wasn’t paying attention. 🙂
I know about getting behind, Jo. I feel I’m always hopelessly behind in keeping up with people’s blogs; and especially now that I’m focused on getting everything done I need to do before leaving in 25 days!! Hopefully I’ll get into a better routine once I’m settled in back home. 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous building, and how brilliantly they have worked out the lighting. Great shots – I love the way the Plumeria echoes the white of the building. And the shot with all the blue…heavenly! Your last thought is quite interesting…
Thanks, Lynn, I thought the lighting was beautiful too. Thanks for noticing my last thought. You’re kind to read. Most people don’t really bother reading; I think most just look at the pictures! 🙂
It’s magic, pure magic! Please anyone, put me in a dream and let me go there right away!
Thanks so much, Dina! You should come to visit Oman. It will certainly give you a different experience entirely from the far North!! 🙂
I know it will! 🙂 I have put it on my list!
Thanks.
🙂 ♥
The opera house is truly stunning. How fortunate you were to be able to attend the performance, Cathy. Love the Frangipani shot. I can almost smell its fragrance. 🙂
Thanks, Sylvia. I was really lucky to be able to go to this. 🙂