If to love is to suffer then opera is and has always been the ideal soundtrack, according to star soprano Elena Stikhina. It’s a dictum the Russian has followed throughout her storied career, meaning roles are approached with a mix of relish and reticence.
Speaking to The National ahead of Saturday’s final performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo In Maschera (The Masked Ball) at the Royal Opera House Muscat, she describes how her role as Amelia illustrates how female characters carry most of the emotional load in popular productions.
"This is particularly the case with Italian composers like Verdi," she notes. "They know the secret to good opera is to always make the women suffer, whether it’s in terms of them trying to make important decisions or coming to terms with their situation. They are normally crying or dying."
Stikhina loves it all, of course, because the onstage trauma is often backed by memorable music that speaks more to the heart than any scripted dialogue.
On that score, Un Ballo In Maschera fits the bill. First performed in 1859 and set in the royal courts of Sweden (another original version moved the action to the governor’s mansion in Boston), it runs the gamut of emotions as it touches on the corrosive impacts of pride, jealousy and betrayal.
The tragic opera tells the story of Swedish king Gustav, an equally popular and derided figure whose secret desire for Amelia, the wife of his closest adviser, hastens his assassination by a group of disgruntled citizens.
While the story is well told, it is the various interpretations and staging that continue to give it new life nearly two centuries on.
The Oman reiteration of Un Ballo In Maschera, as part of the Royal Opera House Muscat launch of its 2024/25 season, is defined by its international collaborations.
A production by China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and an eclectic cast including Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as King Gustav and Chinese baritone Liao Changyong, the opera is played under the baton of Italian conductor Giampaolo Bisanti.
"I have been lucky enough to have worked in many places around the world, but this is the first time I collaborated with a Chinese company and it has already left a profound impression on me," Bisanti says.
“There are times when I am conducting that I don't have a lot of time where you really have no rehearsals. You arrive in the country and have a meeting with the singers and orchestra and then before you know it you are on stage.
"So it can be, at times, a game of Russian roulette because you don't know this organism on stage is going to react, but the Chinese artists were brilliant to work with. They are talented and very serious people who are polite and clever in how they express what they are asked of them."
Directed by Argentine Hugo De Ana, the staging is detailed and at times opulent, as the drama unfolds from the royal court to dark forests where Amelia consults a sorceress to cure her ill-fated passion for King Gustav. The costumes, from the ornate and embroidered ball gowns to the formal waistcoats and military uniforms are stunning while staging is logical and makes use of the relatively wide depth of space the opera house offers through its main auditorium.
Bisanti says a staging of Un Ballo In Mascheracan be a blessing or a curse if not approached correctly. “I have seen some truly ugly versions of the opera over the years that are vulgar and moved away from the spirit of the libretto or versions that were just too kitschy,” he says. "This version is a winning one in that it is a very traditional one without being banal.”
Stikhina agrees, stating a dry retelling of the opera is a disservice to the material, particularly as some of the struggles of Amelia's character echo today.
"Like herself we all make decisions that are not always right and the beauty and romance of love can be difficult to navigate in some traditional societies," she says. "What we can learn from Amelia's life is that what's more difficult than making decisions is to live with them. It's about taking responsibility for your actions instead of helping someone solve it for you. "
As per the tradition of tragic operas, Un Ballo In Maschera ends in bloodshed and melancholy but Stikhina wouldn’t have it any other way.
"Nobody wants to see happy families on stage," she says. "We go to the opera to be entertained but also to work through our emotions. You can walk in the hall with tensions of the world and then you walk out feeling completely free."
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Results
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7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
