Carthage Festival’s 60th Edition Honors Tunisian Classics with Star-Studded Orchestral Gala
The 60th International Festival of Carthage paid tribute to Tunisia’s rich musical legacy during its fifth evening with Musiques de mon pays, a landmark concert featuring the Tunisian Symphonic Orchestra under the baton of Chadi Garfi. Minister of Cultural Affairs Amina Srarfi attended the sold-out spectacle, which reimagined iconic Tunisian classics through sweeping orchestral arrangements.
The evening opened with a graceful ballet before launching into a chronological journey across generations of Tunisian songcraft. Palestinian artist Rola Azar, the guest of honor, delivered the night’s most powerful moment with her rendition of “Hedhih Ardhi”—an emotional tribute that resonated as a symbol of solidarity and cultural kinship between Tunisia and Palestine.
Veteran vocalists Noureddine El Beji, Ahmed Rebai, Asma Ben Ahmed, Arij Braik, Nesrine Mahbouli, and Chokri Bouzayen breathed new life into timeless works by Mohamed Jamoussi, Hédi Jouini, and Salah El Mehdi, among others. Bouzayen closed the concert with his own composition “Ma Sabni,” drawing sustained applause from an appreciative crowd.
More than a nostalgic retrospective, the evening underscored the living vitality of Tunisia’s musical heritage—where orchestral reinvention meets deep-rooted tradition, and the stage serves as a bridge between memory, innovation, and cross-cultural dialogue.
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