The Woman's Word — On the Margins of the Baalbek Festivals

The immortal temples of Baalbek have bidden farewell to their guests, the members of the theatrical and musical companies; the six hundred floodlights have been put out, and the curtain has fallen on the final round of the second international festival — after the State announced, through the voice of its supreme leader, its adoption of these festivals and the allocation of a fixed annual appropriation for them.

Some applauded the news and cheered; others were angered. Opinions varied and clashed. There were those who accused the State of squandering its money on what is not national, when national projects have a prior and better claim to this appropriation; and there were those who went further still... And there are ranks that walk with the herd, content with things as they stand, without troubling themselves to search out its virtues or its faults...

It is right to acknowledge, before all else, that artistic education — musical and theatrical — is among the most salient marks of refinement and civilization. And where do we stand with respect to this education? Who dares answer this question, and feels no shame in answering it?

We are not here concerned with searching out the causes of our enormous lag behind the world's procession in this field; nor are we alone, nor the government alone, responsible for it. Perhaps it is better to be positive and to ask: is there room to make up for what has been missed, and to profit now from circumstances made available to us by the easiest of means?

I understand the festivals as programs and artistic events of a high level, which place themselves at our disposal, so that the masses of the people — those whose circumstances, for a thousand and one reasons, do not permit them to go out to the great capitals of Europe and see these companies in their strongholds — are given the opportunity. I understand these festivals as living models of the lofty classical heritage, and as a high standard by which we tune our conceptions, our sense of taste, and our artistic judgments.

That is my principle. There remain certain wishes for the future — I do not say reproaches — which may throw light on some possibilities, and thus help the committee to succeed in producing the festivals in a manner nearer to perfection and the general good.

1 — I wish, as a radical step, for the strengthening of the arts at all stages of schooling, so that genuine talents may be discovered and developed.

2 — I wish that those responsible would encourage local talents and open the way for their polishing and their emergence. With a little effort and material outlay set before the creative artistic elements, our artistic heritage can be revived and the beloved traditional folklore brought back to life in a bright, modern dress.

3 — I wish the State would undertake to erect an opera house and a theater, to be a center for the interplay and confluence of classical artistic capacities, and for bringing them, with the days, closer to the tastes and conceptions of the people.

4 — And I wish, finally, that the grounds of the artistic festivals in the future would not be confined to the temples of Baalbek, but would include Beiteddine, and even Byblos, and the UNESCO, and others, so that these lofty programs may come within everyone's reach, and not remain restricted to the wealthy class alone.

The artistic festivals have their virtues, and only the positive eye sees virtues.