Myrna Bustani, guiding star from the Lebanon
A Salzburg-Beirut Connection: the Al Bustan Festival
At times it may well prove profitable and advisable to cast a glance beyond the borders of one’s own Festival, especially when a personality like Myrna Bustani is involved, who for many years has maintained a very close relationship with the Salzburg Festival. First, we should try to imagine the difficult conditions under which a highly-educated, politically committed woman (born in Beirut, Myrna Bustani was the first female member of the Lebanese parliament) succeeded not only in getting a music festival on its feet in a once-rich Beirut that later suffered the destruction and pillage of war, but also in keeping it going for years and rescuing it daily, one might say, from oblivion. This is a part of the world where every opera premiere is virtually a “world premiere”, and there has been no scarcity of such first performances since the Al Bustan Festival was founded. Works performed include Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte; Bizet’s Carmen; Tchaikovsky’s Evgeny Onyegin and Pikovaya Dama.
Myrna Bustani, foundress and director of Festival
in Beirut
Myrna Bustani’s idea of starting a Festival dates back to the year 1993. Together with friends and music lovers from Beirut and other parts of the Lebanon, she conceived a vision that became reality for the first time in the winter of 1994. The project envisioned not only a rebirth and a revitalization of the arts, but also a reincarnation of the Lebanon as an independent state and as a community with a rich cultural tradition. In the years that followed, many guest artists from Europe appeared in the Lebanon, familiarizing local audiences with the so-called music of the Occident through solo recitals, chamber concerts and orchestral concerts. At the same time, the festival leaders encouraged and fostered traditional Arabic music, presented dance ensembles from the area of folklore, and provided a forum for contemporary composers of varied origin.
Peter Cossé
Contact addresses:
festival@albustan.lb.com
· www.albustanfestival.com