Ubar — Atlantis of the Desert أوبار — أطلانتس الصحراء

Overview

Ubar — Atlantis of the Desert was created as the opening musical performance for the 12th Omani Song Festival, held at Al-Murooj Theatre in Salalah in 2024. Presented across three musical tableaux, the work introduced the festival through a contemporary interpretation of Oman’s traditional musical heritage.

Rather than following the conventional format of a ceremonial operetta built around a sequence of separate songs, Ubar was conceived as one continuous theatrical musical journey. Traditional Omani arts, rhythms and songs move in and out of a single composition, transformed through a more contemporary performance-oriented musical language.

The concept was to allow these different traditions to interact rather than simply appear one after another. Omani musical forms become part of a larger composition, demonstrating how traditional material can move naturally into modern and international musical settings while retaining its identity. This approach formed the basis of the three tableaux presented during the opening ceremony.

The result was a complete heritage-based musical spectacle in which music, traditional forms and stage performance functioned as one continuous work rather than as a conventional festival operetta.