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To applause, percussionist Bahjat Antaki took the stage with Syria's national symphony orchestra, marking the first classical concert at the Damascus opera house since the end of the war.

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The concert was a way of saying "we are here and able to produce art," despite more than 13 years of devastating war, Antaki told AFP after last week's performance, which drew an audience of hundreds.

"We will continue, and we will be stronger and more beautiful," the 24-year-old said.

The concert was conducted by Missak Baghboudarian, a member of Syria's Armenian minority, and included works by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky but also by Syrian composers.

In the audience were European and Gulf Arab diplomats as well as new Health Minister Maher Al Sharaa and his family.

Sharaa is the brother of interim president Ahmed Al Sharaa.