Samia al-Hajj, Opera Singer — Optimistic About the Future of Art in Lebanon

Like a magical song ... splendid of melody ... heavenly of meaning ... sweet of tones ... delicate of features ... such is Samia al-Hajj ... sweet ... tender ... free-spirited ...

The night deposited its darkness in the blackness of her hair and her eyes ... and the morning gave up its clarity and radiance to her brow and her countenance ...

She speaks to you of the arts, and she soars with you and rises ... and she speaks to you of her struggle and striving in their cause, and she awakens in your soul contentment, confidence, and respect ...

Her fight through life has a story ... It begins with her desperate passion for art as a little girl, and her eagerness to take it in from its wellsprings when she was grown ... then her endeavor to leave her homeland in her youth ... to drink of it deeply and draw from it draught after draught, without ever being quenched or satisfied ..

To France she went ... where the arts are fostered, abilities appreciated, talents polished, and tastes refined ...

And she left it ... to make for Italy ... the cradle of the fine arts and their haven ...

Here and there ... Samia studied under great artists of world rank, the likes of Fanny Marco and Rosita Pagnini and others ...

And she willed that her specialty should be the art of the "opera" .... that art which our country lacks! and which Samia will strive with all her might to introduce to us and to acquaint us with ...

For this art, as Samia tells you of it with enthusiasm, is the loftiest and most exalted point that the art of singing and acting has reached ...

And when you ask her about the reasons that have led to the absence of this art among us, she answers you that Arabic music is still naive and instinctive, relying on nature more than on study, science, and close examination .. Music is a science, like the science of mathematics, for example .. And when we send our artists and people of ability abroad for study and specialization, then and only then can Arabic music rival Western music in loftiness, elevation, creation, and originality ....

And Samia's face lights up the moment she begins to tell you of the good gifts that generous, open-handed nature has bestowed upon us without reckoning ... Our voices, for the most part, are sweet and beautiful, wanting nothing but a little polish, practice, and care ... And the people of this country — love of the arts runs in their blood ... and by instinct and native disposition they can tell the worthless from the worthy, the fine from the vulgar ...

And Samia is very optimistic about the future of the fine arts in Lebanon ... and she backs up her optimism by saying: If everyone in this country met with the encouragement and kindness that I met with from the Lebanese President and First Lady, there is no doubt that the future of art in Lebanon promises every good ...