On a cold late November evening, in a London already infused with the festive season atmosphere, internationally renowned opera singer Fatma Said performed some of Abdel Wahab's most memorable pieces to great acclaim. She was accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the Egyptian maestro, Nader Abbassi.
Everything was planned and carefully executed in a way that would have impressed even the most demanding of audiences. Last Sunday’s packed crowd was easier to please, however, as they knew the words and chords by heart and sang along with them.
The choice of venue was a fortunate one. Situated in a Dickensian part of London, the magnificent Theatre Royal Drury Lane couldn’t have provided a better location for the event. This historic theatre has operated in its current form since 1812, and recently underwent a renovation project that preserved its original character. It has the capacity to comfortably accommodate 1993 concert goers and has perfect acoustics.
Despite the size of the theatre, amazingly, not a single seat was left empty! The audience was packed with members of the Arab community in the UK, people who had travelled for the occasion from other European countries and several Arab capitals, including, of course, Cairo.
Non- Arabs interested in Abdel Wahab’s music were also there. Wishing to deliver a musical concept developed throughout a career of over seven decades, the challenge of producing a repertoire that could summarize Abdel Wahab’s music for a London audience should not be underestimated. This was particularly the case for audience members who were not Arabic speakers or were not familiar with his music.
Unanimously described as the father of modern Arab music, Abdel Wahab was indeed an innovator and modernizer. He reinvented Arab music in the 20th century while meticulously preserving its core identity. To one of the newcomers to the present genre, this was crystal clear. ‘One does not need to understand the lyrics or be familiar with the music to appreciate the composer’s distinctive artistic message,’ said Andrew, who had travelled some distance that day to be able to be present on this special occasion.
For the conductor Nader Abbassi, the experience of conducting the music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab in London was not just an artistic endeavour, "but a responsibility towards a legacy capable of speaking to the world." Abbasi added that Abdel Wahab's work "blends lyrical finesse with harmonic depth, offering a rare space where Eastern identity meets a contemporary orchestral vision without losing its soul."
A striking feature of the show was the omniscient presence of Mohamed Abdel Wahab himself throughout the evening. Artificial Intelligence had been used to recreate his voice, using it to introduce, recommend, and praise each piece, vocal or orchestral, as well as praise the performers.
But it was the performance by Fatma Said that seduced the almost two thousand attendees. Listening to her singing pure classics such as El Kamh El Leyla(1946), or more romantic ones such as Ana Lak A’la Toul (1955) – a childhood favourite of hers that she sang partially in Italian – La Mosh Ana -L-Abki (1959), Kan Agmal Youm (1955) or Ya Msafer Wahdak (1942), one could not avoid been transported to the place and time of our parents’ memories, the days they would describe as “when being in Egypt was better than being anywhere else in the world.”
For Said, singing Arab classics that have been performed thousands of times over the years by countless previous singers could have represented a challenge. Aficionados would inevitably compare her performance with the ones they had known during their lives. But once again, she showed her unique style, captivating and thrilling the audience.
But despite the size of the enterprise and the challenge it imposed, the night clearly reached its objective. The main one was indeed to fill the hearts of lonely Egyptian and Arab expatriates in the UK with joy. In addition, it succeeded in recruiting new members to the swelling club of Mohamed Abdel Wahab’s music lovers worldwide.
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