People say that there is no road-map to success, but musician Guy Manoukian begs to differ. Introducing Esquire Middle East’s July/August cover star.
A young roadie is setting up a set of microphones on a stage. It’s the middle of a midweek afternoon and The Theatre Dubai is setting up for its nightly variety show-and-dinner extravaganza. It’s only been a few weeks since it opened its doors in the space once-populated by the Cavalli Club, and its reputation is spreading in audible sound waves across the city.
“Test, test, test,” the roadie putts into the end the microphone. He pauses, checks with the sound tech, who circle-motions with his fingers asking for him to keep going. He blurts out a few bars of some songs he knows, U2’s In The Name of Love is one of them. The tech gives him a casual thumbs-up before immediately turning his attention to the rest of his lengthy to-do list.
“Was that you singing just then?” a booming voice asks from somewhere in the room. The roadie stops, a little startled, looking around to find the origin of the voice, and then nods. “Do you know Stuck in the Moment by U2? Sing it.”
Not only did the roadie know the song but he nailed it, and three nights later he is again on stage at The Theatre, this time he is singing it in front of a full house of diners, cheering him on.
“I swear to God, if you closed your eyes, you would think Bono was on stage,” recalls Guy Manoukian, the world-renowned pianist and composer, a year later. But in the story he is retelling, Manoukian is not only the mysterious booming voice in the back, but also the artistic director of The Theatre. “I pride myself on being able to see talent in places where other people wouldn’t look,” he says, “because in so many ways that is my story.”
While he is able to provide the platform and opportunity for burgeoning talent today, Guy Manoukian is more popularly known for his own work on-stage. Despite not coming from a musical family, he was a musical prodigy – playing the piano at the age of four and, by the age of eight, he had performed at the Presidential Palace in Lebanon and was writing his own compositions. His first solo performance was in Beirut to a crowd of 1,000 people. He was just 16.
Now, 46 years old, the Lebanese-Armenian musician and producer is widely loved by audiences across the globe for pioneering a crossover style that melds the allure and mystique of traditional Arabic music with contemporary Western instrumental arrangements. His talent has led to performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the London Palladium, Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, the Sydney Opera House, and holding the accolade of playing (and selling out) the Dubai Opera six times – more than any other solo act in history.
Despite his unashamed pride for both his Lebanese and Armenian heritage, Manoukian moved to Dubai a couple of years ago, following the push factor of a devastating socio-political situation in his beloved Lebanon, and the pull of Dubai’s stability and vast windows of opportunity. Locking him down for a few days for an Esquire cover shoot was by no means an easy feat considering his packed work and family (he is a dad to two boys and a daughter) schedule. As an idea of the hectic timetable that Manoukian operates, the last few months alone have seen him sandwich his weekly performances at The Theatre with major concerts in Europe, playing the Palace Theatre in Athens, the Stavros Niarchos – the de facto new opera house designed by Renzo Piano – and selling out the iconic Olympia in Paris, for a show on his birthday.
For context, the Olympia has hosted everyone who is anyone in the music world, from Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, to Elton John, and he confesses that the performance in Paris was “an absolute career highlight” for him, the show closing with 2,000 audience members singing happy birthday to him. The day after the gig, he was invited to come back again in 2023.
On the afternoon of August 4, 2020, he was at his home in the outskirts of Beirut with his family. He needed to go into the city for a meeting around sunset, and he was debating with one of his older brothers whether he should take the car or his motorbike. Opting for the motorbike so that he could avoid rush hour traffic, he weaved his way through the Port of Beirut a mere 20 minutes before the explosion that devastated the lives of thousands, and killed 218 people – including one of his cousins. “Had I taken the car, for sure I would have been sitting in traffic right in the way of the blast, and I wouldn’t be here talking to you today”.
Like many Lebanese, the following months consumed him with despair, heartbreak and rage. He poured his efforts and time into charity work – with a charity called Lebanon of Tomorrow – to help those most affected by the explosion, but he was angry with what was happening in the country both pre and post the deadly incident.
A month after the blast he received a call from his friend Rabih Fakhreddine (CEO of 7 Management, wanting to discuss a potential business opportunity in Dubai. At the time, it was the furthest thing from his mind, but as a favour to an old friend he went along. The opportunity was to set up what would become The Theatre – a venue that would do live musical performances during two dinner seatings per night – but the skill set of Manoukian (both playing and producing) was imperative. The venture would not – could not – happen without him. They gave him a day to think about it.
“I was not in a good place at the time. My heart was black, so at first I thought ‘no way’, but there was something inside me that made me feel like I had a responsibility to my people, and my family, not to turn my back on creating art,” he says. At first Manoukian bargained by asking for a big salary, thinking that it would scare them off, but 7 Management and the Bulldozer Group called his bluff and accepted it, and even offered him equity as a partner in the venture.
It’s important to state that a supper club with entertainment acts is not a novel concept. It is a firmly established nightlife staple and, in Dubai alone, there are already a handful of established venues. But in Manoukian’s mind they pale in comparison to what The Theatre offers, otherwise he wouldn’t be involved.
“I’m the kind of guy that if you give me one, I’ll give you one hundred,” says Manoukian, “they believed in me, more than I believed in myself. I felt a huge pressure but also a huge motivation. It awoke me again professionally, and inspired me to ensure that The Theatre becomes one of the best places, not just in Dubai, but in the world.”
A central part of Manoukian’s road map for The Theatre is to constantly search and invest in talent and bring people together so they can create something new, something exciting. “One thing I insisted on was that we didn’t rely on bringing in plug-and-play international shows,” explains Manoukian. “Once you start relying on buying ready-made shows, then you’ve lost your edge,” Having that ‘edge’ is another fundamental building block for Manoukian. When he was eight years old he used to compete in piano competitions in Lebanon. To make sure he stood apart from the other competitors, he would play his own compositions. “For me, it never really mattered if someone played better than me, because I was composing and showcasing a whole other level.” That is the same mentality he wants – no, demands – to have at The Theatre.
Never shy to declare the significance of his ambitions or accomplishments, Manoukian is well aware of the confidence and bravado that he brings to the table. But despite the many times he has admitted falling short, within him is the stubborn mindset of a champion, someone for whom second best is simply not good enough.
“The funny thing is, what I have achieved in the music world is nothing compared to the success I’ve had in the sports world,” says Manoukian with a chuckle. We mentioned before about his time as a pro-athlete for his hometown basketball team Homenetmen Beirut, well, the story of Manoukian’s impact on the club is not just self aggrandising, but currently he is in discussion with Netflix about turning the story into a seven-episode inspirational mini-series, with the working title Dare To Dream.
Essentially, following a debate with an insurance company that refused to insure the young pianist’s hands, Manoukian retired from the court and in 2012 became the club’s President. Because of his reputation as a known musician and former player, the local media crammed into his first press conference despite the team being in the second division. In true Manoukian style, he caused a sensation.
“I sat down in front of the cameras and told them, mark my words, in five years time we will be champions of Lebanon,” he recalls. “They laughed and told me to stop talking shit, but in the end, well you know what happened.” As is often the case, Manoukian put up. Not only did Homenetmen Beirut win the championship in 2018 – exactly as he had predicted – but they also added the Lebanese Cup, and Arab Club Championship. “I don’t want the documentary series to be about basketball, for me it is about teamwork, self-esteem and overcoming adversity.”
It’s not hard to see the pattern that Manoukian builds his successes on – a seemingly insurmountable challenge, an unrelenting work ethic, and an iron will to be the best at what he does. In each project, or stage of his life, he seems to bolt on additional weapons to his arsenal that will help him conquer the next challenge.
“My experiences in law and basketball have all helped me improve my one true passion, music. In law there is no grey area – things are either black or white. It taught me that to set concrete goals, and smaller targets along the way that will help me get there,” he says. “Basketball, on the other hand, taught me the importance of teamwork and how trusting in people will help you all collectively succeed. Everything that I learnt in basketball and law, I use at The Theatre.
If you go backstage, you will get the sense that the musicians and performers are going out there to play a Championship game – I hype them up, I set them goals and we go into battle. Not with our competition, we are already the best, so we need to make sure that we are always better than we were yesterday, and then be even better tomorrow.”
Ultimately, in the busy life of Guy Manoukian, there is little desire for imitation. He has continuously proven – in music, sport and business – that he is not here to sit quietly on the sidelines, or at the back of The Theatre, and rest on his laurels. On top of every lesson that life has taught him he looks to use it directly to inform better decisions for the future. For Manoukian life isn’t lived as an imitation of art, it is lived as an inspiration for it.
See more of Guy Manoukian in Esquire Middle East‘s July/August issue, on newsstands now
