Farrah El-Dibany is considered to be one of the most successful Egyptian mezzo-soprano singers of today and well on her way to international stardom. Farrah has captivated audiences across the globe with her technically skilled vocals. She is the first Egyptian artist, as well as being the first Arab, to win the prestigious “Prix Lyrique 2019 de l’AROP Award” at the Opera Paris. With her continued successes and recognition for her golden vocals were chosen to sing the French national anthem during Emmanuel Macron’s re-election celebrations.
After interviewing her over 2 years ago, Al Sharkiah had the pleasure of catching up with the opera star once again to hear about her most recent accomplishments.
Today you have received numerous awards worldwide and just recently obtained the prestigious “Medal of the Order of Arts and Letters”. How do you feel about your success and the increased attention that comes with it?
Honored and overwhelmed. I feel extremely proud of being an Egyptian and being able to have studied and excelled in opera which is a field that is not very typical for my country.
These awards have made me feel proud of my achievements and are traditionally viewed as markers of success to a certain degree, but I still feel that I must constantly work harder to achieve and to better myself. It is a responsibility to keep delivering and at the same time to improve myself. It is a great motivation. I feel that I have a sense of duty to accomplish and fulfill, to be able to merit these awards so in a way it is a kind of mixture of two emotions.
With the impressive spectrum of your voice, have you chosen to pursue a career in Opera or in Variety or both?
I have chosen a career in both opera and variety, but of course my priority would always be opera. Opera singing is my main profession, as my studies and master degree and bachelor’s degree were all focussed on Opera as my career. In traditional opera, singers employ two styles of singing and I intend to continue doing both because I love both.
You are known for your exceptional voice, one of the best singers of this generation and also your beautiful smile. How do you arrive so relaxed and confident ?
Well I don’t know if I look so relaxed and confident. I feel I am just being myself and I am not mixing the challenges that I am facing. I don’t like to show that I am not okay or that I am feeling vulnerable, anxious and challenged. However I do have those feelings. After all, I am only human! I try to think positive and deal with it. This is my personality and it also reflects in my career.
You have had so many extraordinary accomplishments such as singing the national Anthem “La Marseillaise” in front of the President Emmanuel Macron and the whole of France. How did that experience make you feel?
I was so proud and humbled to be part of this extraordinary historical event; a moment that I cannot forget and a moment that I will never forget. It was very short notice as I was informed just the night before that I would be singing. After receiving the call, I was full of trepidation. I was anxious but also very excited. Once again, I felt it was a huge responsibility as I was singing the actual French National Anthem in front of the whole of France and the world and of course the President Macron and his wife on such an occasion.
Being a non-French person, I was very honored and very happy that they chose me, but I still felt worried and nervous and just put all my energy into doing the best that I could. It was a mixture of excitement and fear. I did not realize how important this event was until maybe days after. People and friends kept telling me “Farrah do you really comprehend that you have done something unbelievable, it’s enormous but as far as I was concerned, I was the singer going to perform, I was going to do my best, that was my only concern.
It was the best career experience of my life being able to sing La Marseillaise acapella for the pre-elections and celebrations of French president, Emmanuel Macron. As I said, it was not just me singing but a historical event as a Victory for President Emmanuel Macron makes him the first French president to be re-elected in 20 years. It contained everything from performing and singing. I also felt like a princess in a beautiful red dress by the designer Gemy Maalouf. It meant everything to me singing in front of the Eiffel Tower and indeed in front of the whole world. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
You have performed in concerts all over the world, How does it feel to travel far and wide for music?
This is an important part of my personality. I love travelling, singing and music. I also love exploring and discovering new countries and new cultures. It is a wonderful feeling embarking to a new place meeting new people encountering new energies.
We feel that you love and respect your homeland and roots, it must be hard when you are always on the move?
Of course it is but I always make a point of coming back home and also doing a concert, especially in my home town in Alexandria, not just Egypt. Yes it is important for me and I am trying to keep this tradition as much as possible. Being with my family and friends and travelling all around Egypt is very important for me
With the constant demand for you to perform everywhere, what do you see for the future? Will you go into recording? What would you love to be able to do?
Well I would love to go into recording and it would be my next step. As much as I love live performances it is now the time for me to consider entering into the recording scene. I have decided to do this now as so many people have asked me where can we hear you?
I have been asked this question each time I perform at a concert.I feel it is important now to release an album and it is the correct time.
Women and young people are in awe of you, they see you as an icon, someone who is able to motivate others to go for their dreams. If you had a message, what would you want to convey to these fans and people worldwide?
I would like to tell them that one should really understand their passions and feelings and also what they really like and want to achieve in life. How to find happiness and pursue it, I know that this may sound difficult because these days we are often being distracted by many things from social media so much so that we don’t know what we really love, so I think we have to look at things more clearly and deeply. Look at things and go to the roots and look correctly at what you really love. I always advise people to stop making comparisons between themselves and others, as I believe that this is not the correct way to live. We are all individuals and we should learn from others rather than compare. Life is not a race, it is a learning curve from which we can all progress and share life’s experiences together and enjoy the moment.
Text by Suna Ahmed
Photos by Alex Sarmiento
Styling by Suna Moya
Hair Artist Al Sagheer Salons
Silver necklace with white dress by Alexandrian designer
Location. Mandarin Oriental Marrakech
