The Royal Opera House Muscat was established to promote intercultural dialogue and artistic collaboration in the performing arts on a global scale. As a further step into the development of this vision, the House of Musical Arts (ROHMA) was established to advance ROHM’s objective of diversified programming.
The House of Musical Arts celebrates additional cultural domains with permanent and temporary exhibitions on the musical arts as well as hosting seminars highlighting the evolution of these arts and their impact on world history, with a dedicated exhibition hall designed to host international as well as local exhibitions.
The new extension is accessed from ROHM’s Opera Galleria through a unique glass and metal, tube-like pedestrian bridge that flows from one ROHM complex to the other as it exhibits a striking combination of contemporary Omani and international architectural styles.
Having crossed though the bridge, the visitor encounters the ROHMA performance foyer with beautiful carved timber and etched glass doors echoing those of the Royal Opera House Muscat. The performance foyer offers a breath taking first impression with colonnades of towering pillars, finely carved screens and gleaming marble surfaces, all in a harmonious architectural design. This wonderful first impression is augmented as the visitor tours the rest of the ROHMA complex.
What lends ROHMA a special appeal is its community-oriented focus that supports, extends and expands ROHM’s education and outreach efforts and initiatives, with special facilities including, but not limited to, its extensive music library and archiving facility, exhibition halls, and open performance areas.
The Victoria and Albert Museum’s fabulous exhibition, Opera: 400 Years of Passion was opened on 17th January 2019 as the first event at the House of Musical Arts. The Royal Opera House Muscat had the honour of being the touring exhibition’s first destination outside London. Opera: 400 Years of Passion retraces the story of operatic masterpieces in important global cities, taking the visitor on a musical journey from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century.
An important aspect of ROHMA’s plans for the future is the presentation of the permanent exhibition, which will offer an exciting exhibition experience that combines interactive displays with architectural elements and state-of-the-art lighting, acoustics and visual presentation technologies.
The permanent exhibition will be presented in two parts. The first, titled The Making of Music includes sections on ‘The World of Music’, ‘Oman’s Music Diversity’ and ‘Instruments.’ The second part, How Music Works features sections on ‘The Emotion of Music’ and ‘The Making of Music.’
All future events at ROHM’s House of Musical Arts will be announced in the press and featured on ROHM’s website at rohmuscat.org.om.
