Egyptian mezzo-soprano Farrah el-Dibany, who performed the French national anthem in the ceremony celebrating French President Emmanuel Macron’s winning of the presidential elections, revealed details of her choice to perform during the ceremony, expressing pride in joining the event.
Two days before the ceremony, one of the event organizers from the French presidency contacted Dibaby and asked her to sing the national anthem after the president’s speech, she said during a telephone interview with the “Bel Waraa wel Alam” (Paper and the Pen) program, presented on the “TEN” satellite channel, Monday.
She then took part in quick rehearsals, she said, commenting: “The topic was seriously exciting and filled with many feelings and a moment that was not easy for me at all.”
Dibany said she was very touched by the reaction of the French president and his wife as soon as she went up to the stage, as they saluted her and Macron kissed her hand.
“They have seen me before when I sang for them, and I could not imagine that he would greet me and bow and kiss my hands. I was proud of this moment,” she said.
Dibany won the Paris Opera Prize in 2016, the first Egyptian and Arab singer to win this grand prize.
She won many other international awards, including the Wagner Foundation Award after being chosen as the best young operatic talent by the Opera World magazine in Germany, and the Hassan Kamy Award.
Born in Alexandria, Dibany was used to opera music and the French songs of Charles Aznavour and Dalida S.
She learned German and piano at the age of seven. By 14, she received opera singing lessons from the famous opera singer Nevin Allouba, before joining the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center in 2005.
In 2010, Dibany traveled to continue her studies at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. After graduating in 2014, she continued her studies with a master’s degree at the Berlin University of the Arts and a degree in Architectural Design from Technische Universität Berlin.
Dibany is the first Egyptian singer, and the first in the Arab world, to join the Paris Opera in September 2016.
In 2019, she won the won the “Prix Lyrique de l’AROP” award for best female opera singer from the Paris Opera House. While receiving this award, she performed an excerpt from the Carmen opera by Georges Bizet.
