6,000 Lines

By TE/HGH, *Shajarian joins Gharibpour's 'Mowlavi'* - Press TV - Tehran, Iran
Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Iranian vocalist Homayoun Shajarian has joined the Mowlavi puppet opera project by Iranian theater director Behrouz Gharibpour.

The son of Iran's legendary vocalist will be joined by 16 other vocalists including Mohammad Motamedi, Maliheh Moradi, Amer Shadman, Farhad Asadi and Ehsan Nasiri.

Gharibpour's Mowlavi opera will be made based on the Sufi Persian poet Mowlavi's magnum opus Masnavi and will focus on his life and intellectual development. The score for the opera was recorded in Ukraine, where Iranian and Ukrainian choirs were accompanied by dotar and percussion instruments.

Gharibpour has based his latest work on 6,000 lines from the 13th-century poet's Masnavi and used over 100 puppets to perform the opera.

Known for his extensive research on Qajar puppetry, Gharibpour has staged his puppet plays in numerous domestic and foreign festivals, including the 11th World Festival of Puppet Art in Prague and the 2008 International Incanti Figure Theatre Festival in Italy.

Gharibpour received the Sirene d'Oro [Golden Mermaids] Prize of Italy's 2009 Arrivano dal Mare [They arrive from the sea] Puppet Festival for his contribution to the art of puppetry.

Macbeth, Ashura and Rostam and Sohrab puppet operas are among his best-known works.