In Arab pop culture, the word Antar still moves easily through everyday speech. It can point to chivalry, a bold act or the kind of confidence that drifts into performance.
The word can be traced back to the region’s long literary lineage and to Antarah ibn Shaddad, the sixth-century pre-Islamic poet and warrior whose story, told as part of the epic poem Antar and Abla, travelled through spoken word across the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
Films and television series have been adapted from the tale over the decades, including 1945’s Antar and Ablah and the 1961 feature, Antara Ibn Shaddad, and now the story has returned in a large-scale operatic retelling at a purpose-built amphitheatre in Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City.
Running from Friday to Sunday, the production is a full Arabic opera with a libretto by Lebanon’s Antoine Maalouf and musical support from China’s Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra.
It tells of Antarah ibn Shaddad's love for his cousin Abla, who sees past the fighter’s reputation and recognises the vulnerability beneath it.
“It is a very interesting and challenging role because you are figuratively stepping into the shoes of a cultural giant,” Lebanese-American tenor Amine Hachem, who plays Antar, tells The National.
“In our societies – and for Arab men in particular – Antar is often seen as the gold standard of what it means to be a man: loyal to his family and tribe, honest, fearless. His name almost becomes an adjective for those qualities. When you say ‘Antar’ in a specific situation, everyone knows what it means.”
When it comes to Abla’s experience, Lebanese mezzo-soprano Mariam Mouawad says the opera stage offers a place to show a character who often appears in a reduced form on Arabic screens.
“Sometimes her depth is portrayed in a limited way, and that may come from how the story is told in film or television,” she says.
“But when playing Abla and really living inside her, you realise she carries her own strength. Her quiet resistance, her patience, her emotional intelligence, these are forms of power. I wanted the audience to feel that she is not passive. She makes choices.”
As a producer on the project, Hachem says he is aware of the scale needed for work that aims for an international stage. With the support of Lebanese composer Nadim Tarabay, whose music appears in next year’s inaugural season of the UAE National Orchestra, he believes the production can serve as a way forward for developing the opera industry in the region.
“We are working to establish a clear foundation for Arabic opera. The language, the maqam and its patterns are being developed alongside classical operatic writing to form a coherent tradition. Other opera cultures grew this way over time. I sense a new period beginning in the region, and we want this work to contribute to it.”
Mouawad says this also demands refining existing vocal techniques. “Singing Arabic with classical technique is incredibly demanding. The language loves clarity, consonants and emotional weight, while opera depends on phrasing,” she says. “Finding the place where both could breathe together takes a lot of work, but when it comes together it does feel natural.”
Hachem hopes the production, which will be staged with English translation, can eventually tour in Europe and show how Arabic can function within a western classical frame.
“I believe Arabic deserves to be heard in this format,” he says. “Our literature, our poetry, our emotional language. It fits the scale of opera. When people hear Abla and Antar sing in classical Arabic, I think they will understand how powerful this form can be.”
Antar and Abla is being staged at Zayed Sports City from Friday to Sunday. Free tickets can be booked online. Doors open at 8pm
