TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Lebanon's music festivals make modest comeback after crisis
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Lebanese singer Soumaya Baalbaki and conductor Lubnan Baalbaki perform at the Roman temple of Bacchus, during the opening of Baalbeck International Festival, in Baalbeck, Lebanon July 8, 2022 (Reuters/Issam Abdallah)
L
ebanon's international music festivals kicked off at the weekend with a performance in the Roman ruins of Baalbek, the first performance there since the country's economic crisis.
Under the title of "Baalbek Nights Return," conductor Lubnan Baalbaki – whose first name means "Lebanon" and whose last name means "from Baalbek" - led the orchestra on Friday night alongside his sister, singer Soumaya.
The country once held several music festivals every summer, drawing international acts every weekend. This year, the modest reopenings feature almost exclusively Lebanese performers.
Members of the audience in Baalbek swayed and sang along as Soumaya crooned Arabic tunes on a stage set up inside the temple of Bacchus, her silver gown glittering under the spotlights.
She performed traditional ballads as well as original songs written by Lebanese poets and scored by her brother.
For many, the evening was a welcome escape from the crises that have hit Lebanon over the last three years.
A financial meltdown described by the World Bank as one of the worst since the industrial revolution has led to rampant power cuts and medicine shortages across the country.
