ABSTRACT
In the work of the ethnomusicologist, the use of audio recordings, photographs and film are a constant presence; thanks to technological developments, there is also a growing use of multimedia attachments for written reports and analyses. The use of audiovisual methods and their various combinations offers a wealth of sensory experience, connecting the recipient more closely to the idea of real participation in the event and inspiring greater involvement on an emotional level. The Israeli composer Yuval Avital, one of the most active artists in the area of multimedia projects today, has coined the expression 'opera iconosonora' to describe some of his works. Samaritans certainly represents one of Avital's most challenging experiments: with media and staging, it touches some of the key expressions of music and identity of one of the most unique and problematic ethnic-religious communities of the Mediterranean.
