TEHRAN, Feb. 5 (Mehr News Agency) -- The Wednesday performance of the Rumi Puppet Opera Show was dedicated to the giant of traditional Iranian music Mohammadreza Shajarian.

Mohammadreza Shajarian accompanied by his son Homayun who is among the opera's vocalists attended a performance of the puppet opera on February 3. The show is currently underway at Tehran's Ferdowsi Hall.

At the beginning of the performance, the opera's director Behruz Gharibpur expressed his appreciation for the attendance of the opera's vocalists and dedicated the performance to Mohammadreza Shajarian.

Master Shajarian is one of those rare artists who treat other venerable artists well for the benefit of the artistic community. Homayun has inherited his father's sensitivity toward carrying out his artistic pursuits, Gharibpur added.

"I found his endeavors praiseworthy and I tried to highlight his role in the opera just like Shams who had a critical role during the life of Rumi," he added.

Other opera vocalists Mohammad Mo'tamedi, Hossein-Ali Shapur and Sara Rezazadeh attended the Wednesday performance.

Composed by Behzad Abdi, music for the opera was recorded in the Ukraine. The puppet show troupe Aran performs it using more than 100 puppets.

Gharibpur has performed three puppet operas; "Rustam and Sohrab" a national work, "Macbeth" an international play and "Ashura", a religious-themed play.

"I do love the opera puppet show and Mr. Gharibpur has done a great job with this performance. Producing such grand theater for two hours and selecting poetry by a great poet like Rumi is really a difficult task," Homayun Shajarian told ISNA after watching the performance.

"This was my first experience collaborating with a theater troupe and as a result, I have decided to pursue other collaborative efforts in the future," he added.

The performance will go on stage until March 18 at the Ferdowsi Hall located opposite Vahdat Hall, Shahriar St., off Hafez Av.

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