Ashura puppet show returns to stage

Iranian theater director Behrouz Gharibpour and Aran Theater Troupe are restaging the Ashura opera puppet show at Tehran’s Ferdowsi Hall, marking the mourning month of Muharram.

The restaging of the show, one of the most renowned and widely acclaimed productions by the troupe, started on July 13 and will go on until August 3.

The opera is about the battle of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions against the Umayyad dynasty during Ashura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram on the Islamic calendar.

The Ashura opera puppet show is a blend of music, puppetry, poetry and Tazieh (a traditional Iranian passion play).

Despite more than 17 years since its debut, the production continues to attract audiences annually, and recently, the opera was performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow during the "Chekhov" Theater Festival.

Written, designed and directed by Gharibpour in 2008, the opera features musical composition by Behzad Abdi, with Vladimir Sirenko conducting the orchestra.

The production also involved the National Ukrainian Choir and Orchestra, in collaboration with members of the Tehran Symphony Choir.

The cast includes prominent artists such as Mohammad Motamedi, Mostafa Mahmoudi, Mehdi Javar, Farshad Fouladvand, Mohammad-Reza Sadeqi, Ali Khodaee, and Mehdi Emami.