Program notes
A fascinating portrait of the "Star of the East," the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.
Umm Kulthum's artistic career is an integral part of contemporary Egypt history. In fifty years of activity, technical means and political regimes followed one another, but Umm Kulthum never ceased to reign over the musical scene. Her life was one of a novel heroine. A poor country girl climbing the social ladders up to the status of an internationally acclaimed artist. Her success was not only due to her voice, but also to her pride and strengh of character. She spoke to princes as she would have spoken to the man on the street. Umm Kulthum, who earned the nickname of "the fourth pyramide," was more than a singer, she was a myth.