WHEN CARMEN CAME TO QATAR

CARMEN came to Qatar last February 26 (Saturday) and 27 (Sunday). A friend of mine gave me the news, giving me a number to call for tickets. When I called the number, it was answered by a lady with a French accent. Her tickets were sold out. “These things go fast. You should have called me earlier.” Tickets were also being sold at Virgin Megastore, which had only one last ticket – seat 24C, second row in front, on the side. I had to make a quick decision. Would I go alone to the opera? Yes! And so I bought the ticket.

CARMEN is my favorite opera. I love opera but my husband does not. Opera music is very different from the rhythms of Arab music. An opera is a story or drama that is sung. Almost all the dialogue in an opera is sung or at least delivered in a pitched tone. It is not easy following the storyline from the singing. One has to know the plot or at least read the program which gives a summary of each act in the drama. I especially look forward to the singing of the arias, which reveals the true emotions of a character such as love or fear. The aria is rendered in solo voice performance. It is the singing of the arias that gives breadth and depth to the opera. Many opera greats are known for their rendition of arias and many arias composed for operas have become familiar worldwide.

CARMEN is a tragic French opera by the French composer George Bizet and is based on the novel by the same name, written by author Prosper Mérimée. In broad outlines Carmen is the story of a passionate and beautiful gypsy girl who seduces men. Her affections are as fleeting as the wind. The setting is Seville, Spain. She tempts Don Jose, an army corporal by throwing him a flower. Don Jose falls in love with her and an ardent love affair develops. Don Jose turns his back on his home and his career, going off with Carmen to live the wild gypsy life in the mountains with smugglers and the like. But Carmen’s love for Don Jose fades and she abandons him for a bull-fighter Escamillo, a new love. Don Jose pleads with Carmen to go back to him but she spurns him, and so Don Jose kills her.

With great excitement I went to the Katara Opera House – alone (I could find only one ticket, remember?). I thought it was a good opportunity to see the opera Carmen – in Qatar too! The Opera House is in Katara Cultural Village, a section of Qatar segregated for the purpose of “cultural activities.” Katara is located in the West Bay lagoon area of Doha, on Istiqlal St, opposite the Qatar International Exhibition Center. Katara is relatively new. The complex consists of an impressive outdoor amphitheatre (built to emulate the Roman amphitheatres of yore), an Opera House, a theatre/cinema, a beach, restaurants, cafes . . . The complex reminds one of European towns and villages, very foreign to the region. It is a Disney-esque place like the celebrated Souq Wagif (the Old Souk that underwent a massive facelift, like a woman, so that it is known as the “new old souq”).

There is a Qatar National Theatre which is quite capacious that holds stage plays, dramas and operatic performances from other countries. Does Qatar host a lot of these performances that Qatar had to build another? I don’t know. It could also be that the country is just floating on oil and gas revenue, awash with extra cash. Was it necessary to build this “Village”? Inevitably, the current bed shortage in Hamad Medical Corporation flashed through my mind. A pity. The country could really benefit from improving existing health facilities of building new ones.

Building luxury places such as Katara Village showcases a nation’s wealth. In the Valley of the Nile in Egypt, there are colossal monuments built by the Pharaohs’ master builders of antiquity: the Pyramids of Giza, the Temples of Luxor, Karnak and Philae, the Tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Although built to show-case the power of the Pharaoh, all of these colossal edifices are endowed with a spiritual quality that has survived through the ages. Sadly, I neither felt nor sensed any “spiritual quality” permeating the complex, perhaps because the concept and layout are alien to the region. Because it was dark, I could not appreciate the architecture of the buildings. The complex is supposed to have been designed to honour the architecture of the region.

Along the way, I had wondered about the name of this new cultural village, Why Katara? Why segregate a place just for cultural activities? Is it the fashion in city planning? Why not integrate cultural activities in the social context and life of the people? Wikipedia informs me that “Katarah, Qatara, Qatarah is an ancient settlement near Ninevah in Mesopoatamia, in the south of Iraq”. I could not trace the fate of that ancient settlement. Hopefully, Katara Cultural Village in Qatar will shine, rather than vanish or disappear from the map.

The Katara Opera house is grand, after the fashion of grand opera houses in Europe. The room is ornate with rows of regal seats, grand balconies, and polished wooden floor. I had been surprised that the stage was occupied by the orchestra. I glanced at my program. It read, “Bizet – Carmen in Concert Version”. It was not the staged opera I had in mind. Nevertheless, I settled in my seat to enjoy the orchestra play excerpts from the music and listen to the arias. It was quite pleasant but sometimes the soloists sang their songs reading the notes and drinking water from bottles!

I enjoyed the music and the arias. Certainly, for all its grand appearance, Doha Katara Opera House is not the London Royal Opera House. So, too, the performances.

It was a nice evening though.

Carmen at the Royal Opera House http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0FNp...

Rachel Hajar, M.D.
My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
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