Arab News Japan

The Embassy of Japan in Lebanon held an opera concert on Friday entitled “Cedar and Sakura – Music Message” in association with Lexus BUMC, the exclusive distributor of Lexus and Toyota in the country.

The concert’s lineup included Japanese Soprano Fujiko Hirai, Lebanese opera singer Bass-baritone Cesar Naassi and the pianist Marc Karam.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Lebanon, OKUBO Takeshi, a number of ministers, members of parliament, diplomats, judges, religious personnels, professors, media and social figures, in addition to the Lebanese Japanese Association for Cooperation, chaired by the Member of Parliament, Dr. Farid Al Boustani.

“I believe that music has incredible power to reach the hearts of its listeners. That is the reason why, while the country is going through the most difficult times, I decided to host this concert to give people hope and strength to face adversity,” Okubo said in his welcoming speech.

The concert lasted for more than an hour and the audience enjoyed the opera musical pieces in addition to multiple classical heritage music and songs by international composers such as Vaughan Williams, Puccini, Rossini and Caccini and Japanese and Lebanese heritage songs.