 The Iraqi National Theater is preparing to turn a romantic novel apparently written by President Saddam Hussein into a musical touted as the country's biggest ever production.
Al-Mawed, a weekly state-run tabloid, said Monday Iraqi artists were rehearsing scenes from ``Zabiba and the King,'' a patriotic parable depicting a ruler who falls in love with an unhappily married woman. ``It will be the largest production in the long history of Iraqi theater. This is an epic teaching to love one's homeland despite all danger,'' the paper said. It said the play would open before the end of the year. Babil, a newspaper owned by Saddam's son Uday, last month said the president was the most likely author of the 160-page ''Zabiba,'' which went on sale several months ago and has been heavily promoted by the official press. In the story, the king's lover Zabiba is raped on January 17 -- the same day U.S.-led forces launched the 1991 offensive that drove Iraq out of Kuwait, forcing subsequent Iraqi surrender and a sharp economic decline, which Iraq blames on the U.N. sanctions regime. The king dies after capturing the rapists and avenging Zabiba's honor. Besides the love story, the novel is dominated by talk of how to succeed the king. It prompted speculation that 64-year-old Saddam, who has ruled Iraq since 1979, is preparing to hand over power to one of his sons. (Agencies) | 伊拉克国家剧院正准备将浪漫爱情小说《扎比巴与国王》改编成音乐剧，并放出消息称此剧将成为伊拉克有史以来最大的剧目。而《扎比巴与国王》一书的作者很可能就是伊拉克现任总统萨达姆-侯赛因。 据伊拉克Al-Mawed报报道，周一伊拉克的艺术家们排演了《扎比巴与国王》剧中的几幕戏，这部音乐剧讲述了国王爱上了一个婚姻不幸的女子的故事，故事充满了爱国主义的寓意。  这份报纸称："这部音乐剧将是伊拉克剧院上映的最大剧目。它像一部史诗，教育人们无论在多么危险的情况下都要热爱自己的祖国。"据报道，这部音乐剧将在今年年底之前公演。
萨达姆之子乌代所办的报纸《巴比尔》上个月也曾报道，萨达姆最有可能是这部长达160页的小说--《扎比巴与国王》--的作者。这本浪漫爱情小说几个月前上市，并且成为官方出版社强力推荐的书目。 在这个故事中，国王的情人扎比巴在1月17日这天被人强奸--而就在1991年的这一天以美国为首的联合部队展开攻势，将伊拉克赶出科威特，并迫使伊拉克投降。伊拉克国内经济严重滑坡，而伊拉克将此归咎于美国的对伊制裁。 此书中的国王在临终前将强奸扎比巴的罪犯绳之以法，为扎比巴报了仇，恢复了扎比巴的清白。 除了爱情故事之外，小说以对话的方式讲述了如何继承王位，作一位好国王。人们由这部小说推测64岁的萨达姆正准备将政权移交给他的一个儿子。萨达姆自1979年开始成为伊拉克的统治者，（至今已统治伊拉克20多年）。 (中国日报网站译) |
Updated: 2001-08-15 01:00
