The archaeological theater of El Djem hosted, as part of the activities of the 36th session of the El Djem international symphonic music festival, on July 22, 2023, a European Tunisian symphonic performance entitled “De Carmen à La La Land”, furnished by the European Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the Symphony Orchestra in Makrin, the public Institute of music and dance in Ben Arous and the dance club in Sousse “Just Dance”.
In this performance, more than 120 creative musicians, choirs and ballet dancers were present on the knees of the archaeological theater of the mosque, presenting paintings and instrumentals with which the audience present reacted in large numbers, who expressed his admiration for the idea put forward by the French conductor “Pierre Yves korony”, where the first half of the show was devoted to opera music and in which he selected excerpts from the Opera Karman, performed by the European Tunisian Orchestra in a distinctive way and with the participation of opera singers Lilia Ben cheikha, Maram bouhabel, Baha El Din Ben Fadl and Haitham Kadiri, who is considered one of the best that Tunisia has given birth to in operatic singing.
The second part of the show was secured by the Tunisian choir consisting of 59 voices accompanied by the orchestra, through the performance of : West Side Story, La La Land, I Will Survive, Proud Mary .. The performance of these wonderful melodies was co-performed by Lilia bin Sheikha. The most striking thing that attracted the attention of the followers of this musical event was the outstanding level of the choir in terms of harmony and harmony in the performance, and it was admired by all the musicians participating in the show, especially the French conductor, who in turn reacted in a funny way during the performance of these pieces and danced on the knees of the stage.
For reference, this choir represents the Wilayat of Ben Arous and is a mix between the choir of the public Institute of music and dance in Hammam al-Anas (under the supervision of Amina baklouti), Muhammadiyah (under the supervision of Haytham Kadiri) and the choir of the orchestral school in Makrin (under the supervision of Hinda Ben Shaban) with the participation of some students from the Higher Institute of music in Tunisia, the choir has been preparing for this big event for two months under the supervision of distinguished professor Amina baklouti.
As for the orchestra, it included 30 musicians from France and Belgium, and 25 musicians belonging to the Symphony Orchestra in Makrin, most of whom are young men.here it is worth noting the continuation of the artistic director of the Makrin orchestra, Ashraf Tibi, in the same direction, which is to encourage young talents. despite the value and difficulty of the program presented in this show, these young people were as usual distinguished and at the level of the event and were admired by the French leader, who praised their talents and craftsmanship.
These are the young musicians Adam Kalia, Maryam Waslati, Amira Ghaith, Maryam Awadi, Iman Triki on the cello, Rahma ghazil, Sirin bin Halila on the Alto instrument, Islam Bin Hamida on the batri instrument, Shima ajailia, Adam musaadiya, Camelia Mazzah, Wahba Karim and Moaz al-hathli on the piano, Salem Hakima on the saxophone, and they were supervised by Rasim Damak, Queen kno (cello), Bahauddin Al-taqourti (Alto), Muhammad Ali (Dali) Al-ish (batri) and Ashraf Tibi (piano).
In general, this performance, with the testimony of all those present, was an artistic and public success, and most importantly, the great addition provided by the public Institute of music and dance in Ben Arous and the orchestral school in Makrin in the formation and framing of young creatives and giving them the opportunity to highlight their skills and contact with professional musicians in the largest international forums, and this is the biggest gain, which would enhance the Tunisian musical scene with musicians of the adult caliber will have an impact not only locally but also globally.
