 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) | 伊拉克國家劇院正準備將浪漫愛情小說《扎比巴與國王》改編成音樂劇，并放出消息稱此劇將成為伊拉克有史以來最大的劇目。而《扎比巴與國王》一書的作者很可能就是伊拉克現任總統薩達姆-侯賽因。 據伊拉克Al-Mawed報報道，周一伊拉克的藝術家們排演了《扎比巴與國王》劇中的幾幕戲，這部音樂劇講述了國王愛上了一個婚姻不幸的女子的故事，故事充滿了愛國主義的寓意。  這份報紙稱："這部音樂劇將是伊拉克劇院上映的最大劇目。它像一部史詩，教育人們無論在多么危險的情況下都要熱愛自己的祖國。"據報道，這部音樂劇將在今年年底之前公演。
薩達姆之子烏代所辦的報紙《巴比爾》上個月也曾報道，薩達姆最有可能是這部長達160頁的小說--《扎比巴與國王》--的作者。這本浪漫愛情小說幾個月前上市，并且成為官方出版社強力推薦的書目。 在這個故事中，國王的情人扎比巴在1月17日這天被人強奸--而就在1991年的這一天以美國為首的聯合部隊展開攻勢，將伊拉克趕出科威特，并迫使伊拉克投降。伊拉克國內經濟嚴重滑坡，而伊拉克將此歸咎于美國的對伊制裁。 此書中的國王在臨終前將強奸扎比巴的罪犯繩之以法，為扎比巴報了仇，恢復了扎比巴的清白。 除了愛情故事之外，小說以對話的方式講述了如何繼承王位，作一位好國王。人們由這部小說推測64歲的薩達姆正準備將政權移交給他的一個兒子。薩達姆自1979年開始成為伊拉克的統治者，（至今已統治伊拉克20多年）。 (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2001-08-15 01:00
