Dana Al Fardan Unites Qatari Heritage and Sardinian Culture in Landmark Performance titled: “The Song of the Two Seas”

There is a specific, bracing frequency to Cagliari in the winter. As the coastal capital of the Italian island of Sardinia, the city sits perched on the edge of the Mediterranean, its historic stone facades channelling the salt air and the sharp island light. This past New Year’s Eve, however, the atmosphere within the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari—the city’s prestigious opera house and a sanctuary of high Italian culture—held a concert titled ‘Il Canto di Due Mari’ (The Song of the Two Seas) celebrating the sounds of both Sardinia and Qatar.

Dana Al Fardan, the Qatari composer who has spent the last decade absorbing the tropes of Middle Eastern music, debuted on the Sardinian stage to close out 2025. Led by maestro Giovanni Pasini - Sardinian by origin (born in Cagliari) and widely recognised by Qatari audiences for his extensive artistic activity in the country -, the evening served as the sophisticated launch of a new cultural bridge uniting Sardinian and Qatari artistic traditions.

Sharing the stage with a formidable collective that included the radiant violinist Anna Tifu, avant-garde saxophonist Gavino Murgia, eclectic singer Alice Marras, and a Fijiri percussion ensemble from Qatar, Al Fardan and Pasini designed a 75-minute set that was a masterclass in storytelling.

The programme moved with effortless fluidity from the energy of Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture and Ezio Bosso’s Esoconcerto into Al Fardan’s own evocative world. Through a medley from Nadir and the lullaby "Andimironnai", and the atmospheric layers of her album Tempest, notably the haunting "Black Rose" and the surging "Borealis”, the music felt both epic in scale and deeply personal. The concert was performed by the Sardinia Opera Orchestra and Choir and featured the world premiere of a new choral arrangement of Tempest by Maestro Pasini. Conceived specifically for this event, the work was dedicated to the Sardinia Opera Choir by composer Dana Alfardan.

The true heartbeat of the evening lay in the "Sounding Stones," the legendary sonic sculptures of the late Sardinian artist Pinuccio Sciola. These monolithic pieces of limestone and basalt are played as living instruments; when caressed or struck by Maria Sciola (and Andrea Granitzio in some segments), they release a metallic, ancient hum that seems to vibrate from the very core of the island. By weaving these frequencies into her contemporary arrangements, Al Fardan tapped into something remarkably raw. She spoke of the fortune of "absorbing the frequency of the land," using this natural landscape to restore a sense of inner harmony.

Reflecting on the deeper purpose of the night, Al Fardan noted that the performance was merely the opening movement of a much larger international symphony. She observed that across different cultural landscapes, we all share one rhythm; a truth explored through the intersection of Qatari heritage and Italian tradition. “Our shared human values and shared appreciation for the arts have led us into a series of collaborations which are generating the foundation for a wider and greater cultural integration through several initiatives and activities planned in the near future,” she remarked, grounding her ethereal compositions in a tangible vision for the year ahead.

The evening drew a distinguished crowd to the Teatro Lirico’s plush red velvet tiers. In a show of significant state support, the guest list was headlined by Mrs. Alessandra Todde, President of the Region of Sardinia, alongside the Mayor of Cagliari, Mr. Massimo Zedda. Representing the prestigious opera house itself were Mr. Andrea Cigni, Sovrintendente of the Fondazione Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and Mr. Lorenzo del Pecchia, the institution's Artistic Secretary, both instrumental in advancing the theatre’s strategy of international openness and cross-cultural collaboration. The night’s success was anchored by the vision of Dana’s close collaborator, the formidable musician and conductor Mr. Giovanni Pasini, whose direction brought the complex score to life. Adding to the brilliance was pianist and composer Mr. Andrea Granitzio, who, alongside Maria Sciola, continues to champion the extraordinary legacy of the sounding stone.

As the first female composer to create original content incorporating traditional Qatari folk into orchestral music Al Fardan’s trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric.  Since 2016 she has been expanding this genre and introducing it to global stages. She recently released her album Tempest, which seeks to preserve and promote the Qatari pearl diving music called “Fjiri”. Tempest is a cinematic score recorded with over 100 musicians. It is inspired by global seafaring stories, highlighting a multitude of cultural influences all interwoven with traditional Qatari seafaring music, demonstrating the universality of the human story with the sea.

Whether it is her West End success with Broken Wings or the epic Rumi: The Musical, which graced the London Coliseum before its Doha homecoming, her work is defined by a refusal to be boxed in. This performance in Cagliari did more than just salute the close of a landmark year; it served as a resonant prelude to 2026, signalling a future of ambitious collaborations in tourism, enterprise and the arts between Sardinia and Qatar.

#DanaAlFardan #QatariHeritage #SardinianCulture