Musical extravaganza

The 16th edition of the annual Spring of Culture Festival is being organised by Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca), Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research and Al Dana Amphitheatre, in co-operation with Al Riwaq Art Space and Albareh Art Gallery.

Five embassies, namely those of Italy, Pakistan, Germany and Egypt, as well as the Spanish embassy in Kuwait, will be taking part.

There is a global range of artistic and musical talents alongside lectures and art exhibitions. Here is the line-up of activities for this week:

Every Thursday evening, people will be serenaded by the Mohammed bin Faris band, which will feature festive melodies and farewell ballads. Tomorrow will be the first in the series. The last performance will be held on March 31.

At Mohammed bin Faris Music Hall at 8pm.

The Great Opera Arias, a gala concert from the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, will be held tomorrow, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy. The evening of opera will be by Donizetti, Verdi, Rossini and other famous composers. The Italian singers Francesco Vultaggio and Maria Francesca Mazzara conducted by Alberto Maniaci will perform these famous arias in their timeless beauty and elegance. At the Cultural Hall at 8pm.

The Spring of Culture will inaugurate a premier event at the state of the art Al Dana Amphitheatre with famed singer Hussain Al Jassmi showcasing his greatest hits on Friday. At Al Dana Amphitheatre at 8.30pm (tickets required).

In co-operation with the Pakistan Embassy, and in celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Cultural Hall  will host a Qawwali Night, blending literature and music. The event, held on Friday and Saturday will highlight the beginnings of Qawwali with the recitation of poems by great poets such as Amir Khusraw, through the following eras, with the voices of Hamza Akram Qawwal and his brothers.  At Cultural Hall at 8pm on both days.

Made From A Palm Tree pop-up market will be held from Friday to March 18. At Bab Al Bahrain from 9am to 1pm, 4pm to 9pm and from 4pm to 9pm on Fridays.

The Egyptian A Night of Arabic Classic Films: Between Heaven and Earth (1959) will be featured on Friday. The story is by Naguib Mahfouz, starring Hind Rostom, Abdel Salam Al Nabulsi, Abdel Moneim Ibrahim and Mahmoud El Meligy. The film revolves around the breakdown of an electric elevator in a Cairo neighbourhood building with its passengers, metaphorically, between heaven and earth.

At Qal’at Al Bahrain site museum at 7pm.

 The Pakistan Embassy and Al-Saqafa – the Pakistan Association present a Mushaira Urdu poetry event featuring a number of distinguished poets from Pakistan and the Gulf on Sunday. The event will also launch a poetry book in Urdu entitled The World of Emkan by poet Ahmed Adil. At the Cultural Hall at 8pm.

Khaled Al Abdullah, the vocal Professor of cinema and theatre students at the Lebanese University Faculty of Art for the last 13 years, will perform sufi jazz on Monday. At the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research at 8pm.

Bahraini women’s arts will be on show on Tuesday by the Enki Performing Arts Centre. The project, Documenting Women’s Performing Arts, aims to preserve and document the Bahraini women’s lyrical and performing heritage in folk arts and songs, and include them in a literary encyclopaedia with photos, illustrations, and video files. It is being held in conjunction with International Women’s Day. Researcher Jassim Mohammed bin Harban, accompanied by Sharifa Mohammed and her band, will introduce these folk arts. At Al Jasra Crafts Centre at 4pm.

Faika Al Hassan explores the traditional use of frankincense in Bahraini homes and families in her exhibition entitled ‘Protection’. It starts on Tuesday and runs until May 8.  At Bin Matar House at from Saturday to Thursday, from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm.

For details, visit www.springofculture.org or follow @springofculture on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.