ABSTRACT
From the Royal Opera House in Muscat to the Bahrain National Theatre, from Katara Cultural Village in Doha to Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the Arabian Gulf nations are currently investing eye-popping sums in the construction of lavish performing arts complexes. These complexes are designed by internationally acclaimed architects like Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando and WATG.1 They showcase performers of global repute, including Placido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma and the Bolshoi Ballet. Promotional materials tout these spaces’ lofty goals: to transcend cultural divides, to celebrate creative self-expression, to provide “a glimpse of the future of a world where people of different cultural backgrounds overcome their national boundaries and embrace common causes to promote a united humanity” (Katara Cultural Village n.d.).
