Abu Dhabi: Majida El Roumi’s crystal soprano voice rang out triumphantly throughout the Emirates Palace Auditorium during her concert on Tuesday, November 24. Dressed in a simple white gown, the Lebanese diva, who has consistently received praise for her Tarab [classical Arabic style of] singing, entertained the audience with a spectacular one and a half hour set.
The orchestra, under the guidance of conductor Dr Khaled Fouad, provided a rich tapestry of music that weaved throughout the evening, never missing a beat as Majida moved fluidly from one song to the next.
However, it seemed that the orchestra was a bit over eager in their performance, drowning out the Lebanese soprano several times.
Majida's attempts to gesture for the orchestra to slightly tone down throughout the concert proved to be futile, and caused her to push her voice to be heard.
But when the accomplished Tarab diva sang several love songs, her full vocal range was unleashed, with the concert goers responding enthusiastically to her rich voice.
Majida also performed several traditional Lebanese songs, as well as songs that the she performed throughout her career, such as Kalimat.
When fans shouted out titles or sang verses of songs that they wished to hear, the highly praised artist reacted with amusement before launching into songs that soon had everyone ready to leap out of their chairs and dance in the aisle.
She also did not disappoint her Lebanese fans, and sang ‘Beirut Ya Sit El Donya’ [Beirut, the Lady of the World], among other tribute songs to Lebanon.
In the end, a thunderous standing ovation was given to the highly accomplished diva, as she completed her highly successful performance, despite starting an hour later than expected.
Majida had performed on both Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, November 25, to launch the second season of Sounds of Arabia, and its series of concerts entitled, ‘The Last Thursday of Every Month’, organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).
