Tickets for Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al Wasl Opera, which celebrates thousands of years of the UAE's history, its achievements and aspirations, are now on sale before the premiere at the Dubai Opera in December.
Read more about Expo 2020 Dubai here.
Produced in collaboration with Welsh National Opera, the first Emirati opera has been created under Expo 2020’s theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and will feature more than 100 artists and musicians from around the world.
The show will run from December 16 to 19 and is composed by Mohammed Fairouz, co-written by Maha Gargash, directed by Sir David Pountney and conducted by Justin Brown.
“Celebrating Expo 2020’s vision of collaboration, Al Wasl Opera brings together many people from a variety of artistic backgrounds to create one art form – and there’s nothing more universal than opera and theatre. If people can laugh and cry together, then anything is possible between them,” Mr Fairouz said.
The opera gets its name, Al Wasl, from the old name for Dubai. It also translates as “the connection” in English, fittingly for Expo 2020’s theme.
“The story of Al Wasl begins in the desert, and we created a rather original way of depicting this desert in a metaphorical way,” Sir Pountney said.
“In the middle act, we are in the present, where there is a strong reference to the creation of the Burj Khalifa, and we move on into the future in the final act, where we are in pure fantasyland about what the future may or may not look like, depending on whether we make a commitment to a sustainable tomorrow.”
Al Wasl Opera will be presented in English, with a runtime of 120 minutes, including one intermission. Tickets start from Dh300 and are available from the Dubai Opera website.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1. |
United States |
2. |
China |
3. |
UAE |
4. |
Japan |
5 |
Norway |
6. |
Canada |
7. |
Singapore |
8. |
Australia |
9. |
Saudi Arabia |
10. |
South Korea |
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
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If you go
The flights
Fly direct to London from the UAE with Etihad, Emirates, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic from about Dh2,500 return including taxes.
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Rooms at the convenient and art-conscious Andaz London Liverpool Street cost from £167 (Dh800) per night including taxes.
The tour
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Tomorrow 2021
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
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Abu Dhabi Card
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