"It's expected to be [performed] in Europe in January 2018. However, the opera would be performed in full in Jakarta prior to that," Ainun Opera conductor Purwacaraka said over the weekend as quoted by Antara news agency. 

Produced by PT Opera Ainun Inc., a sub-company of Perkumpulan Lima Dimensi, the opera is based on a novel written by BJ Habibie himself. 

The story follows a man named Rudy Habibie as he weaves through the intricacies of family life, finding an everlasting love in Ainun. He fulfills his passion for aeronautical engineering and discovers a love for his homeland and eventually finds his faith in God. 

Read also: Former president BJ Habibie reveals third movie based on life of late wife

Several performances are set to follow the one-hour preview that was staged last month, before the full 150-minute long production is to be shown in the Indonesian capital later this year. 

"It is expected that Opera Ainun would be staged in its full format at the end of the year," Purwacaraka said, adding that all the music compositions had been prepared since September 2016. 

The production team is complete, with Ari Tulang serving as art director. The libretto was penned by Titien Wattimena. The cast members include Andrea Miranda singing in soprano as Ainun, Farman Purnaman in tenor as Rudy, with Christine Tambunan in soprano and Renno Krisna in tenor, as well as members of the Purwa Caraka Music Studio (PCMS) choir and Bandung Institute of Technology Students Choir (PSM-ITB). 

Following a December showing in Jakarta, the Ainun Opera is slated to take to the stage in Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna and Berlin next year, taking the performance to the continent of noted classics, such as Aida, La Boheme, Hamlet and Phantom of the Opera. (liz/kes)

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