Kulthumiyat by Various, Van (2017/2017), Royal Opera House Muscat, Masqat, Oman

ROHM’s annual Kulthumiyat honours the great Umm Kulthum (1904-1975), known as ‘The Star of the East’ and widely regarded as the greatest Arab singer in modern history. With regular live broadcasts on Radio Cairo from the early 1930’s onwards, Umm Kulthum’s fame spread throughout the Arab World where she continues to be revered to this day. Virtuosic Egyptian singer Mai Farouk interprets some of the great Diva’s most memorable songs. Farouk is a highly accomplished interpreter of Umm Kulthum. She has mastered the Diva’s full repertoire, including the extremely demanding classical songs of the 1940s and 1950s, a period which represented a dramatic departure from the modernist romantic songs of the 1930’s and came to be known as the ‘Golden Age’ of Umm Kulthum.