The programme for the 37th edition of the El Jem International Festival of Symphonic Music, to be held from July 13 to August 17, 2024 at the Roman amphitheatre in El Jem, near Mahdia, includes nine evenings.
Performing at this year’s festival will be symphony orchestras and two jazz groups from Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia, whose theme is “Les Nocturnes d’El Jem”, a tribute to the works of Chopin.
The complete festival program was released on Friday, June 21, on the occasion of World Music Day, at a press conference held at the Berges du Lac in Tunis in the presence of the organizing committee and festival partners.
The festival will feature three Tunisian productions: the opera “Carmen”, produced by the Théâtre de l’Opéra de Tunis, will open the festival on July 13, and “Mélodies méditerranéennes”, a co-production of the Institut Supérieur de Musique de Sousse, the Conservatoire de Musique de Sousse and the Orchestre Symphonique de Sousse, will close it on August 17.
On the evening of August 12, the Carthage Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Hafedh Makni, will perform.
The remaining program includes an Austrian evening with the traditional concert by the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra, and a Spanish evening with “Impressiones de Espana: Concerto Malaga”.
Italy, present in the small coliseum since the festival’s inception, is one of the main guest countries for the 2024 edition.
On the program are two Italian evenings, including “A Night at the Opera” by the chamber orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Sofia.
The second evening will feature the orchestra of the Guardia di Finanzia, which is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its foundation in El Jem.
In the evening, music lovers can look forward to the “Alchimie” jazz and blues concert by Rafik Gharbi (Tunisia) and Nasser Ben Dadoo (France), as well as a jazz evening with the “Moncef Genoud Quartet” (Tunisia, Switzerland).
The organizers are planning an event two days before the start of the festival to promote jazz music.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Dhouha Talik- English: NejiMed)
