Striking a Peaceful Note in the Mideast

Hoping to help get a troubled region off to a peaceful start in 1997, the Red Sea International Music Festival will take place Jan. 9 to 12 in both Israel and Jordan.

Festival officials said the two-venue idea was hatched by Valery Gergiev, conductor of the St. Petersburg Kirov Opera Orchestra, which will be featured in the festival, and Gabi Kadosh, mayor of Eilat, Israel, one of the sites. The other site is Aqaba, Jordan, just across the border from Eilat. Among the music to be performed is Verdi’s “Requiem” and Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.”

Tickets, priced at $34 to $62, are available from Artis in Tel Aviv; tel. 011-972-3-517-9025, fax 011-972-3-516-0045.. The office is closed on Fridays and Saturdays.