Wednesday June 6, 2019                          By: Kismat Mokhtar

Mezzo-Soprano Farrah El-Dibany received “Prix Lyrique 2019 de l’AROP” Award by the Paris Opera House, to become the first Egyptian and Arab to ever receive this award and to sing at the prestigious Paris Opera House. “Prix Lyrique de l’AROP is awarded annually to a female and a male Uprising Opera Singers. The award ceremony was held at Opera Garnier (Paris Opera) where Farah sang an extract from Carmen, by Bizet in the presence of HE, the Egyptian Ambassador Ehab Badawy and his wife, and French dignitaries, including CEO of BNP PARIBAS.

Farrah has been a resident artist at the Paris Opera House since 2016.  She represented Paris Opera in China, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at the Biennale dell’Arte at the French Pavilion in Venice and also at the Cairo and Alexandria Opera House. In 2018, she won the Wagner Prize for Excellence in Opera. Recently she performed the role of Prince Orlofsky in the Opera Die Fledermaus, with the Paris Opera House. Moreover, Farah was featured in a short trailer celebrating the cooperation between Devialet and the Paris Opera House. Farrah also sang in the trailer. Devialet is the number one company in the world for the best and most sophisticated sound technology for wireless high-end speakers in the world. For their first cooperation with Paris Opera House, Farrah was chosen to be their face and voice.

Farrah has a busy summer ahead of her. In June, she will sing the role of Dido in extracts of the Opera Dido and Aeneas at the Paris Opera. In July, she will sing the Role of Carmen in Bizet’s Opera Carmen, at the Opera festival of Glatt in Germany. She also has two concerts at a Paris Theatre where she will perform Dalida’s songs.

The mezzosoprano grew up in a musical environment where she developed an ear for classical and opera music at a young age. Her parents were enthusiasts of these genres and her grandfather played the piano. Farrah began taking piano lessons at the age of seven and voice lessons with renowned opera singer Nevine Alouba at age fourteen.

The major turning point in her life came when her German music teacher acknowledged her extraordinary vocal talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in opera singing. This notable encouragement drove Farrah to Germany to follow her passion. She received her Bachelor in Architecture from TU Berlin. Also, she received a Bachelor of Arts from Hanns Eisler College of Arts, and a Masters in Opera from The University of Arts Berlin.

Farrah has performed in all major venues in Cairo and Alexandria and received various national and international prizes. She performed several roles in renowned operas worldwide. Her outstanding performance playing the role “Carmen” in 2015 awarded her the title of best “Upcoming Young Opera Singer’ in a critic’s survey conducted by the “Opernwelt” Magazine yearbook. The National Round of the Eastern Mediterranean Region later appointed Farrah as one of their jury members.

Farrah’s success story of international fame was topped by her acceptance at the prestigious Young Artist Program at the ‘Acadèmie de l’Opera Nationale de Paris”, the biggest Opera House worldwide. She is the first Egyptian resident in the prominent Paris Opera house, chosen as one of the 5 finest singers out of over 500 contestants.

Check Farrah El Dibany Facebook page and website here and here

Photos Credit Farrah El Dibany

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