P.O.Box 11-3764, Riad el Solh110 72 150, BeirutLebanon
Beirut
لبنان
- Arts
The Al Bustan Festival is an international festival of Music and the performing Arts that takes place annually over five weeks during the months of February and March. The Al Bustan Festival was the first and sole “Classical” Music Festival of this size, in the region. Its main objective is to revive the cultural life of a country re-emerging after seventeen years of civil war. Throughout the years, the Festival succeeded in establishing a Classical Music season in Lebanon. Also its primary aim is education. This is an intrinsic part of the Festival and involves a range of activities beyond the performances given on stage. The Festival provides a rich environment for the cross-pollination of the Arts: meetings between visiting and local artists, drama workshops, dance masterclasses, lectures, etc.
The festival is unique in Lebanon in the concentration of artistic activity (more than 260 artists invited from different countries, more than 8000 attendees from local and regional countries)and the sheer number of its performances, 32 to 35 each season. Each year the Festival programme is structured round a central theme. (http://www.albustanfestival.com/previous-festivals/events-by-year/) By contributing in the evolution and refinement of cultural tastes, the Festival hopes to accomplish its Mission by reaching greater artistic achievements and opening new opportunities to the artists of tomorrow. Performances take place for the most part in the Emile Bustani Auditorium as well as the Crystal Garden Glass Conservatory in Hotel Al Bustan. Other locations are used for specific events (acoustics) like churches, Assembly Hall of the American University of Beirut, Etc. Its multi-faced approach intermingles pure classical works with theatre, dance and unusual and exotic presentations: Oriental, Jazz, Sacred music, World music, mimes, Marionettes, etc.