I went back in time as “Bambino” came to life on stage, when French-Lebanese performer Mirva Kadi reincarnated the legendary Iolanda Gigliotti, better known as Dalida, and remarkably hit the stage as extraordinarily as “Bint Shoubra” or “the daughter of Shoubra”, as the Egyptian-Italian-French singer from that popular neighbourhood was sometimes known.
She manifested Dalida the minute she greeted the audience. After exchanging few phrases in Egyptian dialect, Mirva playfully pretended she could no longer continue in Arabic and switched to French, just as Dalida might have done.
No one can bring back the irreplaceable legends of the past, but when you decide to evoke the past to pay homage to one of them, you have to offer the audience a similar soul to work on their nostalgia and their expectations of an artist they are attached to and have come to remember with enthusiasm.
Mirva was the star whom RMC Worldwide’s founder and Managing Director Ahmed Ebeid imagined would attract the Egyptian art and culture crowd, eager to relive a moment with their beloved Dalida. Mirva Kadi was definitely the right choice. Her powerful vocals and captivating performance on stage ensured the success of the show.
A Virgo born in Cannes to a Lebanese father and French mother, Mirva began her career at the age of 14 as a model. She then found her passion in singing and later in acting.
The “Bint Shoubra” show involved an orchestra conducted by renowned maestro Nayer Nagui, with a special appearance by another extraordinary voice, Egyptian Haidy Moussa who performed several Arabic songs of Dalida’s.
Mirva’s performance and flexible body movements impressed the audience as she could portray Dalida in most of the narrative-style performances. Even the costumes were thoughtfully selected to reflect the diva’s elegance and the glamour she was known for on stage.
Drawing on the concept of storytelling through music and theatre, Mirva was able to take us to Gigi’s wonder world, and she could professionally narrate “Gigi’s” journey to a disco heaven after her death. The 1980 disco song is a continuation of “Gigi l’Amoroso” produced in 1974. “Gigi in Paradisco” was a series of American-style shows that Dalida performed for the first time in Paris, which added to her popularity.
The album included tracks like “Comme Disait Mistinguett”, “The Alabama”, “Il Faut Danser Reggae”, “Money, Money”, “Je Suis Toutes les Femmes”. The Gigi show was the core of Dalida’s work as of 1980. The lighting and colour effects of the 80s and 90s disco clubs fantasy dominated the stage, creating a dreamlike, surreal atmosphere, synchronised with Mirva’s and the dancers’ dynamic choreography.
Mirva Kadi’s movements together with her vocals captured Dalida’s charisma and style especially in “Je Suis Malade” and “Paroles Paroles”.
The latter, one of the classics of French chanson, featured Egyptian influencer and story-teller Bashir Shousha who played the role of Alain Delon. The song is a conversation between a man and a woman. He is trying to win her heart with compliments and gifts, but she dismisses them words, words, just words, “caramels, bonbons et chocolats”, as empty promises. The duet was not only beautifully staged but also emotionally convincing, with their voice conveying the flirtatious emotions accurately.
The evening in the Media City Cairo Show Theatre wouldn’t have been complete without Dalida’s Egyptian classic “Helwa ya Baladi” or “My Beautiful Country”, which featured background scenes from Egypt’s tourist landmarks and glimpses of everyday life, while travellers with baggage moved around Mirva as she performed – a powerful visual metaphor for longing and belonging. The song was produced in 1979, its lyrics written by Marwan Saada and music composed by Egyptian-French Jeff Barnel, who also composed “Salma ya Salama”, also beautifully performed by Mirva Kadi. Helwa ya Baladi became extraordinarily popular among Egyptians of all ages and also eventually spread around the Arab world and the West, fuelling nostalgia for the homeland.
“I want to die on stage, in front of projectors / I want to die on stage, singing till the end. I cannot depart in the shadow / I want to die shot through lasers, before a full house.” In glamorous black, Mirva ended the spectacular show and the unbearable life of the diva, with an emotional climax by performing “Mourir sur Scène” or “Dying on stage”. She went up on the same set with which the show started, carrying Dalida’s soul to heaven as she bid the full house audience farewell, in a symbolic mortal scene “bien orchestrée.”
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