Executive Producer
Asil is a young Syrian refugee awaiting documents in Turkey while processing the trauma of losing her home and family. Her story gives voice to a charming gigantic puppet named Amal, who represents millions of migrant and displaced children in a walk from the Syrian border in Turkey all the way across Europe. Escorted and animated by a group of puppeteers who are themselves refugees, Amal’s epic journey is one of compassion and discovery.
Stage Director
In this live recording for 2009, Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila - a story of doomed love set against the backdrop of cultural conflict between Hebrews and Philistines - is reinterpreted to relate with the conflicts in today's Middle East. "In our approach to this opera we tried to move away fromthe quasi-biblical interpretation, and to place the story in a contemporary context to explain its political meaning in today's world," say the two directors, Israeli Omri Nitzan and Palestinian Amir Nizar Zuabi. In this production by Vlaamse Opera, the dramatic story of Saint-Saëns' greatest opera is unfolded in all its tragic beauty.
