Fatma Said, soprano - Rafael Aguirre, guitar  

Soprano Fatma Said and guitarist Rafael Aguirre bring the beauty of Arabic and Spanish cultures together to create a sublime and illuminating experience that you won’t want to miss.

Fatma Said, making her United States recital debut with this performance, began her singing career at age fourteen in Cairo. She has since become a frequent principal at Teatro alla Scala and other opera houses and festivals across Europe. She maintains a busy schedule as a soloist with orchestras as well, appearing locally in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2019 performances and recording of Puccini's one-act opera, Suor Angelica. Of her latest album El Nour, which means ‘the light,’” in Arabic, Fatma says, “I feel I am shedding light on how music that has been interpreted many times in the past can be presented in different ways—in other words, it can be perceived in a different light. The idea is to connect three cultures—Arabic, French, and Spanish—and to show how much, despite cultural, geographical, and historical differences, they have in common when it comes to music.” 

Said’s partnership with Spanish guitarist Rafael Aguirre, who makes his Boston recital debut, brings a cross-cultural flair to this recital. “I feel so fortunate to work with all kinds of musicians from across the world, and to perform music by so many composers from all over world,” she has said. “The thing that connects us is music. It is a commonality, and I love that in listening to live music, we—in a way—create a moment of peace together.”  

The program features an array of 20th-century Spanish songs by Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Rodrigo, Lorenzo Palomo, and Federico García Lorca. Selections by 20th-century Egyptian composer Dawood Hosni (the first composer to write a complete opera in Arabic), 19th-century Spanish composer and classical guitarist Francisco Tárrega, 20th-century Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and contemporary Egyptian composer Sherif Mohie El Din complete the program with perspectives from different times, places, and cultures. 

Be in the hall to for what promises to be a sublime and illuminating concert experience as Said and Aguirre make thrilling recital debuts. 

This performance also has a streaming option April 1- April 7.

PROGRAM:
Falla                             Seven Spanish Popular Songs 
Rodrigo                        “Adela” from Tres canciones españolas 
Lorenzo Palomo          Madrigal and Five Sephardic Songs  
Sherif Mohie el Din      “Could the River Flow Forever?” from Three Poems by Amal Donqul 
Serrano                      "La Canción Del Olvidó" from Canción de Marinela 
Tárrega                        Gran Jota, for solo guitar 
Lorca                            Selections from Canciones españolas antiguas
Falla                             Tus ojillos negros (Canción andaluza)
Obradors                       “Del cabello más sutil" from Canciones clásicas españolas
Ziad Rahbani                 Aatini al nay wa ghanni
Gamal Abdel-Rahim     Daughter of the Sultan

The 2022/23 Debut Series is generously sponsored by Harriet & David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

This performance is made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series' LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Endowment and Innovation Funds, with generous leadership support from Peter & Anna Kolchinsky and Cerise Lim Jacobs, for Charles.