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Thirteenth century warlord Genghis Khan is best known as one of history’s most bloodthirsty rulers and at first glance appears an unlikely subject for a rock opera. However, a bizarre rock opera which has just opened gives the medieval empire builder Genghis Khan superstar treatment claiming he had a softer more appealing side which has been unfairly overlooked. "He was a good husband, a good son, and a good friend and I wanted to show him that way," said lyricist Dojpalem Ganzorig. "Not as a tyrant or someone with a bad character which is how some people see him." Non-Mongolian historians beg to differ; they say Genghis and his Mongol hordes murdered an estimated 40 million people as they created an empire that stretched from Asia to Eastern Europe raping and pillaging as they went. But in Genghis’ native Mongolia, locals revere the warlord as their most famous son and the rock opera, called "Chinghis Khan", (the name by which Mongolians knew Genghis) has opened in Ulan Bator, the country’s dusty capital, to rave reviews. It is the latest manifestation of a growing personality cult around the man who united warring tribes more than 700 years ago to forge one of the most effective armies the world has ever seen. "During Communism, it was prohibited to talk about Chinghis Khan," Ganzorig told NPR radio recently. "But he was in everyone’s heart, everyone wanted to know him, be proud of him, and sing songs about him. Now after the democratic revolution we can do that." Communism, which discouraged talk of Genghis Khan for fear of stoking nationalism, collapsed in 1990, and Mongolians have moved to reclaim ownership of Khan ever since. The reason for staging the rock opera now is to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Mongolia’s creation, an event Genghis brought about. The production is loosely based on The Secret History of the Mongols — an account of Genghis’ bloodthirsty life and times allegedly penned by his generals. It features 40 dancers, 60 singers, a rock group called The Black Wolves, a 50-piece orchestra and mixes traditional Mongolian throat singing and folk music with electric guitars. —By arrangement
with The Independent
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