article · Issue No. 11, December 1948 · p. 41
Fadwa Kurban - The Eastern Nightingale
Fadwa Kurban - The Eastern Nightingale · Loreen S. Rihani
From the high peaks of Lebanon to the heart of America, Fadwa Kurban, the Eastern Nightingale, went as a child and began her struggle for musical recognition, « My voice should cross the sea, and my message reach the other side of the world », she always thought.
Her burning youthful desire and her strong determination to succeed and attain a worthy position in the world of music, found her through periods of discouragement and financial distress. She studied in Europe and America and in both places received remarkable encouragement.
She had the Bel Canto Schooling and among her teachers were some world famous German and Italian masters.
Most of her life she spent in America where she persued her operatic career with an audition at the Metropolitan in New York.
In 1925 she introduced Arabic music to the European and made an exquisite combination of both. Having heard her voice Gibran K. Gibran, encouraged her to go to Europe and study her career fully, and so she did.
Her long years of training helped her to be one of the world's known singers. She possesses a vibrant coloratura soprano voice which reveals intrinsic merit and commands admiration and respect. She can sing in six languages : Arabic, English, French. Italian, German and Spanish, and in each her accent is perfect. Her gifted operatic voice has a range of three octaves with lyric and dramatic qualities. With ease and sweetness her powerful voice reaches the high notes and holds the level for a time. She appeared on American and European stages. Her presentation of the « Oriental Night », at the Symphony Hall in Boston, added more to her fame.
Critics refer to her as the « Oriental Nightingale ». Tagore wrote her, « You have a voice divine, of rare beauty. » Daniel Frohman said, « She is the finest coloratura I have ever heard ». Ameen Rihani in his comments about her said, « Fadwa Kurban, if the world of music is not out of joint, will yet arrive ». In Egypt, Argentina, France, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States of America music lovers and critics characterize her voice as divine, phenomenal in range and rare in beauty.
From the high peaks of Lebanon to the heart of America, Fadwa Kurban, the Eastern Nightingale, went as a child and began her struggle for musical recognition, « My voice should cross the sea, and my message reach the other side of the world », she always thought.
Her burning youthful desire and her strong determination to succeed and attain a worthy position in the world of music, found her through periods of discouragement and financial distress. She studied in Europe and America and in both places received remarkable encouragement.
She had the Bel Canto Schooling and among her teachers were some world famous German and Italian masters.
Most of her life she spent in America where she persued her operatic career with an audition at the Metropolitan in New York.
In 1925 she introduced Arabic music to the European and made an exquisite combination of both. Having heard her voice Gibran K. Gibran, encouraged her to go to Europe and study her career fully, and so she did.
Her long years of training helped her to be one of the world's known singers. She possesses a vibrant coloratura soprano voice which reveals intrinsic merit and commands admiration and respect. She can sing in six languages : Arabic, English, French. Italian, German and Spanish, and in each her accent is perfect. Her gifted operatic voice has a range of three octaves with lyric and dramatic qualities. With ease and sweetness her powerful voice reaches the high notes and holds the level for a time. She appeared on American and European stages. Her presentation of the « Oriental Night », at the Symphony Hall in Boston, added more to her fame.
Critics refer to her as the « Oriental Nightingale ». Tagore wrote her, « You have a voice divine, of rare beauty. » Daniel Frohman said, « She is the finest coloratura I have ever heard ». Ameen Rihani in his comments about her said, « Fadwa Kurban, if the world of music is not out of joint, will yet arrive ». In Egypt, Argentina, France, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States of America music lovers and critics characterize her voice as divine, phenomenal in range and rare in beauty.
Madame FADWA KURBAN
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