Zad Moultaka's Opera 'Hémon' Premieres as Podcast on France Musique

Zad Moultaka's opera 'Hémon' had its world premiere as a podcast on France Musique in March 2021, opening the Arsmondo Lebanon festival at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. The opera, with a libretto by Paul Audi, reinterprets the Antigone myth from the perspective of Hémon, Antigone's fiancé. Moultaka, both a visual artist and composer, uses quarter-tone inflections from Arabic modal music and a minimalist orchestration to create a hypnotic, urgent sound. The cast includes Tassis Christoyannis as Creon, Béatrice Uria-Monzon as Eurydice, Judith Fa as Antigone, and Raffaele Pe as Hémon, who reveals his countertenor voice in the final scene. The opera explores themes of political withdrawal, civil war, and moral collapse, drawing on the composers' experiences of the Lebanese Civil War. A staged production is scheduled for 2024.