TEHRAN -- Veteran stage director Behruz Gharibpur is convinced that the Rumi opera puppet show will help increase the number of Persian art and culture enthusiasts overseas.

“A group of American Orientalists watched the play during its performance in Shiraz in April. They highly enjoyed the opera and purchased DVD copies of it. On their return from Iran, they contacted Iranians residing in the United States about providing the facilities to stage the puppet show in their country,” he told the Persian service of MNA.
“A group of Rumi puppet show fans has also emerged after watching a synopsis of the play posted on the internet.
The puppet troupe Aran performs the show using more than 100 puppets. Composed by Behzad Abdi, the music for the opera was recorded in the Ukraine.
Iranian professor Kaveh Pahlavan, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Center for Wireless Information Network Studies in Massachusetts also asked me for the text of the opera, “A group of young Iranians residing in the United States is collaborating in translating the text into English.
“This shows that our youth are interested in Persian literature and the literary figures of their country.
“Staging the Rumi puppet show in the United States will remind Iranian nationals in the U.S. that Persian art and culture is still rich,” Gharibpur remarked.
He also asked Iranian officials to concentrate more on producing cultural products and dedicating a special budget for this. “I hope we can stage a Hafez puppet show in the near future.”
Photo: Behruz Gharibpur with a number of his puppets