One of the two sisters that made this opera, Raja, simply explained the meaning that this name has for her; she said: “I grew up aware by the physical presence of Black all around, the black silhouettes of Saudi women, the black cloth of the Al ka’ba and the black stone that supposedly is said have enhanced our knowledge”.
They also said that the meaning is connected to journey, transition; indeed, to make this artwork, they were inspired by the great traveller Marco Polo, and Shadia explains how she wanted to follow his example and “to bring my city of Mecca to Venice, through objects brought from there: a Black Arch, a cubic city…”.
Probably, in my opinion, with these words she wanted to say that both sisters created this artwork to build a bridge between these two different cultures. This artwork maybe is the change from darkness to light, and of two cities Mecca and Venice».
(Alessandra Caporusso)