It's that time of year again when the ancient city of Fez throws off the dust and cobwebs and opens the gates to visitors from all around the world.
The 13th annual Fez Festival of World Sacred Music kicks off June 1 at 8:30 p.m. on the stage at Bab Makina. Tonight's performance features opera diva Barbara Hendricks, an American-born singer who now resides in Sweden. Accompanying her will be Swedish Mezzo-Soprano Paola Hoffman and the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble.
As part of the program, Ms. Hendricks will be performing one of her favorite works, Stabat Mater by Pergolesi. A stabat mater comes from the Catholic tradition - poetic verse set to music that meditates on the suffering of the Virgin at the Crucifixtion. The tradition originated in Medieval times.
In addition to the great performers tonight, their Highnesses Morocco's Princess Lalla Salma, Princess Myriam, HM Queen Ghania of Jordan and Madame Bernadette Chirac will also be in attendance. The patronage of HM King Mohamed VI makes the festival possible.
There are countless activities scheduled all over the city including concerts at Bab Boujloud, Sufi nights at Dar Tazi, children's activities at Dar Al Qods in the Ville Nouvelle, tours of Fez El-Bali and much, much more. On June 2-4 at the Batha Museum there will be the discussion encounter groups talking about Faith and Reason, Cultural Ethics and Identity, and World Heritage Cities and the Global Village. My personal favorite events are the outdoor evening concerts at Bab Boujloud and the smaller performances scheduled at other venues around the city. They are less formal and tend to elicit a lot audience enthusiasm.
When this many people come to the city and when are out and about moreso than usual, the security is naturally higher. There is a very strong presence on the street. Truth be told, it made me a bit nervous walking to work this morning. I always tend to feel two ways about the increased surveillance because first, we all know it's necessary in any situation where large crowds will congregate for a very public event. However, Moroccans tend to become skittish about encounters with foreign visitors unless they are seen as touts, hustlers or some other sort of pest. Nobody wants to be pestered, of course, but sometimes a bit of that is the price paid to meet people.
So more than anything, I hope we will be left in peace to enjoy the festival, the chance encounters with strangers and the ambience that comes to place so full of excitement and anticipation. It promises to be a fabulous and memorable festival week.
