The World Was Listening: The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir in Rome
Categoria: Musica
The performance arrives at a moment when Saudi Arabia has moved decisively into the global music industry.
Por Billboard | 20/05/2026
The Colosseum does not need a backdrop. On a May evening in 2026, it was one in the 11th stop of the Marvels of Saudi Orchestra world tour. Sixty-two musicians performed at the Temple of Venus and Rome, inside the Colosseum Archaeological Park, with two thousand years of Roman stone rising behind them. Thirty-two were members of the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir along with the other 30 were Italian from the Fontane di Roma Youth Orchestra, all led by maestro Marcello Rota. Joining them on stage was the maestro Andrea Bocelli, performing alongside the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir for the first time, a tenor who has performed in Saudi Arabia more than six times and whose connection to the Kingdom’s cultural scene stretches back years. The performance arrives at a moment when Saudi Arabia has moved decisively into the global music industry, as an emerging market investing at scale in live entertainment, music education, touring infrastructure and expanding the access of music production and consumption. The international tour of Marvels of Saudi Orchestra has become a global, visible expression of that transformation. These substantial ventures have been developing and proceeding since the Ministry of Culture was founded back in 2018 followed by the founding of the Saudi Music Commission in 2020. “Performing against the magnificent backdrop of the Colosseum is always a deeply moving experience,” Bocelli said of the evening, “but sharing this stage with the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir made it even more meaningful. Music has the power to connect cultures across time and space, and this performance was a beautiful expression of that connection. It was a privilege to be part of a performance that brought together such rich musical traditions in the heart of Rome.” Since its first international performance in Paris 2022, the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir has built a touring record. Mexico City. New York’s Metropolitan Opera. London’s Central Hall Westminster alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The Sydney Opera House. Tokyo Opera City. Returning to Paris again at the Palace of Versailles as well as two different concerts in Riyadh at King Fahd Cultural Center. AlUla’s iconic Maraya Hall. And now the Colosseum Archaeological Park in Rome. Each stop of Marvels of Saudi Orchestra tour has followed a consistent curatorial logic: the Saudi ensemble engages with the musical identity of the host city directly, rather than simply performing its own repertoire in a foreign room. In New York, they opened with Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” arranged for the ney , the traditional Arabic reed flute. In London, they fused Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” with the Saudi classic “Adeet fi Marqab” in front of the Royal Philharmonic. In Tokyo, they performed Arabic-language versions of Japanese anime theme songs. The audience response in each case wen