Saudi operatic artist Khairan Al-Zahrani.
The Saudi operatic artist, Khairan Al-Zahrani, opened one of the concerts of the Italian opera troupe to which he belongs, in a famous church in the capital, Rome, with a verse from a poem by Hassan bin Thabit, the Arab poet whose name was associated with the emergence of the Islamic call and the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
The Saudi young man, who became a professional operatic singer in Italy, appeared wearing the traditional Saudi costume, where the long dress was while the white shemagh and the black headband covered his head, ahead of the artistic band that lined up behind him on the singing platform in the church.
Al-Zahrani echoed the famous verse of Hassan bin Thabit, in which he says, “The Lord of people is above the saying of those who called / other than you as a god. You are higher and more glorious.”
Al-Zahrani published the video clip of his participation in the party, and wrote, commenting on Twitter, “Soft power when it makes a difference and connects the Arabic language and Islamic culture through art to all parts of the world again.”
Al-Zahrani added, commenting on that concert, “I am happy to open a concert in the largest and most important churches in Rome, in Arabic language and Islamic melodies.”
Muhammad Khairan Al-Zahrani, who prefers to identify himself by the name of his late father, Khairan, left the study of pharmacy after two years, to devote himself to operatic singing, and traveled to Italy to professionalize that art, before his journey ended when learning the Italian language due to the emergence of the Corona pandemic and the closures that caused it.
But the young man, who loved opera, soon completed his journey with the end of the Corona closures, and returned to Italy to study opera academically in a global home.
On his journey with the art of opera, Khairan joined the Italian band “Coro Polifonico musica”, and in 2020 he gave three concerts with it in the churches of Rome and a party in the Vatican, and then gave a concert in Abu Dhabi, before continuing his successes with other Italian bands.
Last year, Al-Zahrani presented the last concerts of an opera festival organized by the Ministry of Culture at the Abu Bakr Salem Theater in the Boulevard City area in the capital, Riyadh, in the first global event of its kind in the country.
Saudi Arabia intends to crown its interest in the art of opera, by building an international opera house, which, in addition to historical and archaeological landmarks and many artistic events, will be a destination for residents and tourists from different countries of the world.
Artistic and lyrical opera concerts are held in churches in Italy to take advantage of the architectural design of those churches, which allows sound to reach all parts of them, and what is presented during the concerts has nothing to do with religions or beliefs, says Al-Zahrani.