Preparations are under way for another concert at the foot of the Sphinx. With the Great Pyramids in the background, the stage has attracted international artists like Sting, Julio Iglesias, and most recently Shakira. This Friday, Egyptian-born Canadian singer Chantal Chamandy hopes to add her name to the choice roster of superstars.
Chamandy’s show “Beladi is an expression of her multi-cultural upbringing. In true cosmopolitan style she will be singing in five languages, hoping to earn her nickname “The Daughter of the World.
Her last CD, “Love Needs You, reached Top 5 on the UK dance charts. London’s Evening Standard wrote, “Chantal mixes East and West to emerge as a strutting talent who exudes both breathy sensuality and vocal control worthy of Celine Dion. Her single “Feels Like Love went platinum this year.
Chamandy, who was born in Alexandria, and raised in Montreal, saw the possibility of realizing her dream of singing in her homeland before one of the great wonders of the world. “It’s a unique opportunity for me; that’s why I had to work with the world’s top producers of this type of performance. I’m very proud to showcase the talents and skills of Quebec performers and artistic and technical experts who have worked on world-class productions. This show will be a magical moment in my life, said Chamandy in a statement to the press.
The project’s origins date back more than a year when Ninemuse Entertainment’s production team sought authorization from the Egyptian government to use this exceptional site.
Award-winning French director Gérard Pullicino, who has produced and directed shows by such megastars as Celine Dion, Madonna, Johnny Hallyday and Joe Cocker, will direct the concert.
“This is an exciting project for me since it turns this remarkable archeological site, the last wonder of the ancient world, into my playground. I’m also delighted to discover a new artist. Chantal is very human, and the concept she has come up with for the show is an outstanding opportunity for viewers to see Egypt and its wonders through her eyes, in a modern staging. She is returning to the country of her birth, and it is this magic and emotion I will attempt to capture in the show, said Pullicino.
The stage will be set at the plateau of the Giza, and its designers hope that its dimensions will measure up to grandeur of the site. Created by Guy St-Amour, who has won a number of awards for his stage designs, the multi-level design includes a stage for some 40 musicians from the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Chamandy’s band will be on a second stage, and a huge central stage will accommodate dozens of dancers from Quebec and Cairo, who will perform numbers especially choreographed for her songs. Featuring a series of bridges, the design seems to represent the concert’s efforts to build bridges – between cultures as well as musical styles.
Chantal Chamandy is a singer/songwriter of Greek and Lebanese descent, and was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She moved to Montreal, Canada when she was a young girl, and speaks French, Italian and Spanish as well as Arabic and English.
Some of Chamandy’s earliest memories are of music. As a child in Alexandria, she remembers listening to her family’s many recordings of Um Kulthum.
“A large part of both the Lebanese and Greek communities in Egypt speaks French. Middle Eastern people tend to speak a lot of languages, Chamandy was reported to have said.
“I was raised in the Lebanese Orthodox church, but in our neighborhood, there were Christians and Muslims and a little bit of everything. I didn’t actually become fluent in Arabic until my grandmother came to live with us in Montreal when I was 14.
Meanwhile, her home was filled with Italian opera and the music of Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, and especially, Dalida, an Egyptian singer of Italian origin based in France who sang in five languages and sold more than 150 million albums around the globe during her 30-year career. Like Dalida, Chamandy recorded a version of the traditional Egyptian song “Salma Ya Salama ; her lovely, evocative rendition closes Love Needs You, her latest release.
Chamandy’s concert will be distributed to all of the stations of the PBS network. The show will be available to begin airing in March 2008. Television viewers will be able to enjoy the performance, which will also include cultural, historical and tourist elements, with commentary by the singer-songwriter.
It is fantastic that this production can be captured and eventually seen by hundreds of thousands of people in North America. I am happy that this event and TV show will enable me to perform before the Egyptian audience, but I also want it to serve as a window into the cultural richness of my ancestral country, added Chamandy.
You can catch Chantal s performance in Cairo this Friday, September 7 at the Sound & Lights plateau at the foot of the Sphinx in Giza. The performance begins at 9 pm.
