Adjusting to life in the new normal…

The annual Abu Dhabi Festival will have a few operational tweaks to its programme this year.

An evolution of sorts was, of course, inevitable given the ongoing global health climate. That being said, the 2021 festival certainly hasn’t shrunk.

It’s grown dramatically in fact — with events and performances scheduled to last an entire year under the theme ‘The Future Starts Now’.

Kicking off on February 1 2021, this will be the 18th incarnation of the festival which is organised by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF). The Abu Dhabi Festival is the ‘largest cultural celebration’ in the region and features a collection of musical, operatic, theatrical, literary, artistic, dance and other performances alongside talks, exhibitions and digital events.

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The 2021-2022 festival will include 16 exciting world premieres, 12 festival productions, eight global co-productions and four special creative commissions.

Highlights of events currently scheduled include an opera, L’Aocalypse Arabe, based on the work of Lebanese-American poet Etel Adnan; a concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of Ludwig Van Beethoven; a performance by award-winning composer and jazz pianist, Tarek Yamani; and a concert featuring Palestinian jazz singer Omar Kamal.

The programme will be comprised of a mix of free in-person and virtual events, a full list of which can be found on the abudhabifestival.ae website.

Abu Dhabi Festival’s main mission directive to celebrate, educate and inspire the region and the world beyond it. Abu Dhabi is a cultural hub, a geographical gateway between east and west and enjoys an almost uniquely diverse community, which makes it a fascinating study for its own culture, and the perfect stage to reflect and honour world culture.

For more information on the programme and event dates, please visit the abudhabifestival.ae website.

Images: Getty