Libretto-o-o is an exploration of the history and resonance of Middle Eastern opera. Shot across six historically significant opera houses in Algiers, Beirut, Cairo, Marrakech, Muscat, and Tunis – some of which were never completed, others ranking amongst the most lavish theaters ever constructed – this architecture film offers a meditative portrait of the grand theater; and the poetics, drama, and politics that fade into its proscenium. This film is part of a larger body of artworks exploring the storied history of opera houses in 11 Arab countries,reflecting on history, desire and estrangement, nationhood and mythology, extinction and exile, and includes a collection of short fiction, a large scale opera curtain, and other sculptures and sounds.
