The Temple of Bacchus in the heart of Baalbek, one of the most important, well-preserved archaeological sites in the Middle East, acted as backdrop to a concert organised as part of the Rossini year celebrations in Lebanon by the Embassy of Italy and the Cultural Institute. The concert forms part of the Baalbeck International Festival held each year under the imposing colonnades of the archaeological site about 65 km from Beirut, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Maestro Toufic Maatouk conducted Giacchino Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’. Artistes included internationally renowned opera signers Joyce El Khoury, soprano, Daniela Barcellona, mezzo soprano, Paolo Fanale, tenor and Krzysztof Baczyk, bass, accompanied by choirs from the Pontifical University Antonianum and Notre Dame University.
Lebanon: concert in the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbeck
The event was organised by our embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Beirut as part of an integrated promotion programme by the Farnesina «Italia, Culture, Mediterranean». It organised 300 events in 2018 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to promote dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean. It is also a testament to the commitment of the Italian Cooperation Service – a privileged liaison with the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and Directorate General of Antiquities – to preserve archaeological heritage. Italy contributed towards the restoration of the Temple of Jupiter at the archaeological site of Baalbek.
