The Cairo and Alexandria Opera Houses will hold simultaneous concerts in honour of Farid El-Atrash on 21 December, marking 43 years since the great musician's death. The Syrian singer and composer died on 26 December 1974, leaving behind a significant musical legacy that won him fame in Egypt and the Middle East, earning him the title "King of the Oud". At the Cairo Opera House, the National Arabic Music Ensemble, conducted by Hazem El-Kassabgy, will hold the concert in the main hall. The song repertoire includes some of Farid Al-Atrash's classics, such as Ana Wa Elly Bahebo, Layaly El-Ons, Rohy Rohak, Banady Aleik and Ya Habaiby Ya Ghaybeen. At Alexandria's Sayed Darwish Opera, meanwhile, a concert will be performed by the Alexandria Opera Ensemble for Arabic Music and Singing. The lineup of songs includes Hekyet El-Omr Kollo, Ya Zahra Fi Khayaly, Estaqtelak, Gameel Gamal, Banady Aleik, among others. The singers will be Amir El-Refaiy, Hayam Mohamed, Mostafa Saad, Alaa Ayoub, Yaser Said, Hossam kamal, Heba Ismail, and Ayman Mostafa, with Walid Salama on the oud. El-Atrash was born in Syria in 1910. He started performing as a singer when he was only 15 years of age, appearing alongside his mother Alyaa in one of her public shows. He perfected his art with his sister Asmahan at the Mary Mansour Hall, where he sang lyrics by the most famous poets of his day, including Bairam El-Tonsy, Morsy Gameel Azeez, Hussein El-Sayed, and Kamel El-Shenawy. He was also a talented and distinguised composer, writing numerous songs for renowned singers such as Sabah, Noor El-Hoda and Moharam Fouad. Programme: Thursday 21 December, 8pm Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theatre), 22, El-Horreya Road (formerly Fouad Street), Alexandria For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
