<span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">The Amman Opera Festival concluded its inaugural edition last night with the finale of two performances of Verdi's </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic"><em>La Traviata</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Held at the historic Roman Amphitheatre in the Jordanian capital, a cast of more than 150 performers brought to life one of the opera canon's most beloved compositions.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Led by Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum, the multicultural cast hailed from a dozen nations with members from the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra and Georgia's Batumi Opera House Choir to Italy's La Scala and home-grown musicians.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Jordanian news agency Petra reported that festival patron Princess Muna Al Hussein attended the opening night on Wednesday.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">The princess </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">praised Barhoum, who helped to organise the festival in addition to undertaking the lead role of </span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Violetta alongside Jordanian tenor Ady Naber as Gastone.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"Zeina Barhoum has helped to put Jordan on the map with all her hard work that she does both here and around the world," she said. </span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"It has always been delightful to work with her. I have had the pleasure of listening to Zeina at various concerts and also enjoyed her voice on CDs<br/> very much.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"I consider her a great ambassador of music for Jordan."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Jordan's tourism minister Lina Annab hailed the event as a cultural milestone. </span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"This is an exceptional event," she told</span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="Italic"><em> </em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]" data-atex-fs="NormalItalic"><em>The Jordan Times,</em></span><span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]"> stating it would "definitely help promote Jordan as a venue for more cultural events, not only in the field of opera".</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Speaking from the festival red carpet, Barhoum described the event as Jordan's arrival onto the regional opera scene.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"We are late when it comes to putting on events like [this] in comparison to other Arabic countries such as Egypt and Syria first, and then more recently Oman and Qatar."</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Hailed as one of the region's most promising sopranos, Barhoum graduated from the American University of Sharjah before studying vocalism<br/> under Italian baritone Walter Alberti. She has also<br/> performed with the Prague Youth Symphony Orchestra and on the international stage in London, Paris and Dubai.</span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">Barhoum hopes the Amman Opera Festival, which is to become an annual event, will provide the catalyst for Jordan to join the UAE, Oman and Kuwait in building its own dedicated venue. </span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"Throughout my career, I have been blessed to work with people from around the globe," she says. </span> <span data-atex-cstyle="$ID/[No character style]">"Through my music and art, I have realised the importance of cross-cultural connections and I have seen first-hand how music provides an important bridge that unites cultures from all over the world. Through the use of music, we speak one language, a language we can all understand without interpreters."</span>