An American opera company has announced to stage a show titled ‘Bhutto’ which will be based on the life of former premier of Pakistan, late Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in December 2007. The show which was planned to open this year in Pennsylvania has now been pushed to 2019.
Mohammad Fairouz, who is a prominent Emirati-American composer along with Mohammad Hanif — an award-winning Pakistani novelist — will be commencing the show in Pittsburgh (USA), reported Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The opera focuses on Benazir Bhutto’s extraordinary life and the influences upon her, and the effect that her stand for women and their ability to lead has had on the world stage,” Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn was quoted as saying by US publication.
Musicians, lead singers and soloists performed each act in its entirety, occasionally pausing briefly to talk through a passage, it said. Composer Fairouz was quoted by as saying “Everybody has an opinion about Bhutto,” Fairouz said. “It’s often very personal, very passionate. As a composer you feel compelled to do something — and then you’re like an animal sniffing at truffles trying to uncover why it’s interesting.” “When you write an opera, you have to start with research to find out why the story or idea compels you so much.”
“I knew nothing about opera of classical music,” Hanif said. “I was of course familiar with Bhutto as I grew up living in that reality. Growing up, you either loved them or hated them… As soon as [Mohammed Fairouz] suggested Bhutto as an opera I said yes. It’s a bizarre story, really over the top for a novel. The father was hung, one brother poisoned, one brother shot … It’s a perfect fit. Really, each family member could have their own opera.” “We’re telling a story,” Hanif said. “It’s a family story that centers on power. It’s not intended to be divisive, but it’s political, so of course it will be. But that’s not a bad thing.”
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17 November, 2019
