Musical Evenings, Theatrical Performances and International Operas at Riyadh Front

The Saudi Ministry of Culture is organizing a variety of artistic and musical events and cultural activities, from March 20-31. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Ministry of Culture is organizing a variety of artistic and musical events and cultural activities, from March 20-31. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Musical Evenings, Theatrical Performances and International Operas at Riyadh Front

The Saudi Ministry of Culture is organizing a variety of artistic and musical events and cultural activities, from March 20-31. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Ministry of Culture is organizing a variety of artistic and musical events and cultural activities, from March 20-31. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

Within an initiative by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Riyadh Front is hosting musical evenings and theatrical and opera performances, featuring a number of contemporary artists and unique creative experiences.

The ministry is organizing a variety of artistic and musical events and cultural activities, from March 20-31, under the Quality of Life Program, one of the projects of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The events include a 3-D hologram display of a concert by famed artist Whitney Houston. The show embodies a glimpse of her life and her most important artistic contribution.

The events will also see a performance by one of the world’s greatest opera composers, Jose Carreras, in addition to an Arab Philharmonic Music evening with Syrian artist Rasha Rizk, who will be accompanied by 46 musicians from the International Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Algerian Maestro Amine Koueider, in a hall that can accommodate more than 1,400 people.

Moreover, the culture square of the Riyadh Front will also host two of the most prominent works of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the “Swan Lake” ballet and “The Nutcracker” that was first performed in 1892.

Visitors will have a unique experience in watching musical and dance performances, including “Inspiration” and “The Jazz Story,” as well as a number of Broadway musicals.

The Riyadh Front events come as part of a program by the Ministry of Culture to enrich the local scene with diverse artistic content, and to enhance the Kingdom’s cultural life.

The initiative aims to present various creative and unique experiences to the widest segment of the public, thus raising the level of creative dialogue and exchange among fans of arts and culture in the Kingdom.



Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
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Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.