Muammar Gaddafi and his female bodyguards are going to take centre stage in a British opera. The Libyan leader will be featured in a new production by the English National Opera. The part of Gaddafi is likely to be played by a rap star in the ultra-modern spectacle. The ENO has asked hip-hop collective Asian Dub Foundation to create the music with rapper, JC001, expected to play the part of Gaddafi. The company is planning to show the Libyan leader’s journey from pariah to statesman. That will mean covering many contentious subjects, not least the Lockerbie bombing and the murder of Wpc Yvonne Fletcher.
And the Asian Dub’s guitarist, Chandrasonic, has admitted they are still working out how to deal with those and other issues. He said he wanted to look at Gaddafi’s attempts to "update the Koran with democratic, radical proposals". The performance is another attempt by the ENO to reach out to new audiences to cut its multi-million pound debt. Last month the opera company performed the third act of Wagner’s "Die WalkÃŒre" to thousands of rock fans at the Glastonbury music festival. |