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Music in Jerusalem: The ancient Sultan's Pool put to RECENT ENTRIES
glorious use. Opera at the Salzburg Summer
Festival
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The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra:
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Jerusalem's Season of Culture: An
innovative approach spanning the
worlds of music, dance, poetry and
Nowadays many outdoor cultural events in Jerusalem take place in the Sultan's philosophy
This year saw the inauguration of the first
Pool. In biblical times, this area was known as the Hinnon valley. It was here
Jerusalem Season of Culture. One of the highly
that Menasseh, the biblical king offered child sacrifices. Subsequently, the acclaimed events of this…
Romans converted the valley into a water reservoir by constructing a wall across By Dr. Irving Spitz
it to the south. This was later repaired in the 16th century by the Ottoman
Turks, hence its name, Sultan's Pool. In more modern times, this area was part
of a dangerous no-man?s land forming the border between Israel and the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Today, the Sultan's Pool has been magnificently restored. On one side of the
valley, rise the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, which were also built by the
Ottomans. On the other side are the first buildings constructed in the 1860s
when the Jewish population began to move out of the old city. The ambience
of this magical place is unique. This was complemented by the lighting effects
with intermittent illumination of the old city walls.
One of the main events of the recent Jerusalem Opera Festival, organized by
the Israel Opera, which was held at this venue, was an evening devoted to
popular arias. The program consisted of excerpts from the operas of Verdi,
Puccini, Rossini, Mascagni and Cilea. It was performed by soloists and the
Arena di Verona Orchestra, under the baton of Italian conductor, Giuliano
Carella. Since this orchestra plays at Verona's open air annual opera festival,
the musicians were accustomed to this type of venue.

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The concert began with a rather pedantic performance of Rossini's overture to
William Tell. It took a little time to adjust to the sound. The orchestra had to
compete with the wind as well as the traffic on the surrounding eastern and
southern roads. The real drama began with the soloists. Pride of place went to
Italian tenor Stefano Secco whose Nessun dorma (None shall sleep) from
Turandot, was perhaps the real highlight of the evening. Both the soprano
Svetla Vassileva and mezzo soprano Mariana Pentcheva hailed from Bulgaria.
Mariana Pentcheva was best in Acuzena's aria Stride la vampa (The flames are
roaring) from Il Trovatore and Svetla Vassileva rended Butterfly's aria Un bel
di vedremo (One fine day) exquisitely. Brazilian bass, Luiz-Octavio Faria
captured the subtle nuances of Don Basilio's aria La calunnia (Slander) from
the Barber of Seville.
At the conclusion of the concert, the enthusiastic audience clamored for more.
Tenor and soprano obliged, perhaps not unexpectedly with the Brindisi (Toast)
from La Traviata to the audience's great delight.
Illustration: The setting of the operatic gala by the Arena di Verona Orchestra
in Jerusalem's Sultan's Pool (courtesy, Yossi Zveker)
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