Opera For Peace has announced the creation in 2021 of its first academy, Opera for Peace Academy Middle East & North Africa.

The project is a celebration of Arabic opera and aims to train artists of the future as well as incentivize cultural exchange to promote Arabic culture and art. There will be a focus on creating opera in the Arabic language with the hope of changing the way people around the world see Arabic art.

“Every time the art of opera is sung in a new language, it brings people together through understanding their culture and art. Therefore opera,  in the Arabic language reflects the face of Arab culture and a distinct notion of peace and unity,” said Maroun Rahi, Arabic opera composer and Artistic Director of Opera Lebanon, in a press release.

The Academy’s founding partners hail from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE.

This will be the first in a series of academies for Opera for Peace. The organization also plans to announce Opera for Peace Academy – Africa later on in 2021.