The Fifth String: Ziryab's Passage to Cordoba by Torange Yeghiazarian

A multifaceted performance created collaboratively with an ensemble of actors, clowns, and musicians. Part of Golden Thread’s Islam 101 initiative, the play features original music composed by Faraz Minooei and production design by Mokhtar Paki.

Meet Ziryab, the 9th-century musician and cultural icon, in this family-friendly new play with live music: a musical genius, a star of the Baghdad court, and a fashion innovator. THE FIFTH STRING playfully tells the story of his beginnings in Iraq, his life as an immigrant to Cordoba, and his lasting contributions in music, fashion, and culture that continue to reverberate today. Widely credited with adding a fifth string to the oud and with introducing Persian and Arabic influences to Spanish music, his life becomes an inspiration for this modern retelling as a story-within-a-story in the tradition of 1001 NIGHTS.