The chief executive of Dubai Opera has revealed that he wants to bring hit musicals Hamilton and Wicked to the city.
Jasper Hope told Time Out Dubai about the productions he would like to see in Dubai in the future following the success of shows such as Les Misérables, Evita and Cats.
Hamilton tells the story of US founding father Alexander Hamilton through the medium of rap and hip hop while Wicked tells the tale of the witches of Oz.
Hope, who has been at the helm of Dubai Opera since its opening in 2016, also plans to bring more drama following the success of the recent production of Othello as well as film screenings with live orchestras.
Speaking to Time Out Dubai’s The Big Listen podcast, Hope said: “I’ve seen Hamilton a couple of times, and they don’t have a touring production of that yet, but as and when that becomes a possibility that’s certainly got to be on the list.
“The Lion King you can never ignore. For so many decades now, tens of millions of people have seen and loved it.
He added: “There are a few of those titles that are just global smash hits and of course they are, for us, very important to try and get at some point. There are things like Wicked – I personally think would be a great show to get at some point.
“There are classics, why shouldn’t we do a Wizard of Oz? You really can go back across the whole genre in a new market and find brilliant productions of interesting and popular titles, and if they exist and you can work out the dates and everything else, they’re worth trying and I think there would certainly be an appetite regardless of the show that we bring.
“But it needs to be something that has a certain stature that is going to excite people, either because of the casting or the production values.”
Worldwide hit Phantom of the Opera, the second-longest running West End musical after Les Misérables, is taking to the stage in Dubai in October.
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