Description

Seven musicians and a choir to immerse themselves with humor and emotion in the major musical work of Oum Kalthoum.<div> Following a theatrical form developed in her two previous productions, Hatice Özer interweaves concert and narrative to explore the performative principles of the Arabic classical music orchestra. The director, accompanied by seven musicians and a choir, immerses us in one of Umm Kulthum's longest and most beautiful songs.</div><div><br></div><div> The woman known as "Al Sitt" ("The Lady" in Arabic) left an indelible mark on Hatice Özer's childhood and the entire Mediterranean. The young director wasn't even born in 1967 to witness the concerts given at the Olympia by the Egyptian legend. With Waiting for Oum Kalthoum, she makes up for lost time and the tarab (musical emotion). The actress recounts and analyzes the effects a concert by the star could have. We are immersed in the sounds of the long love song "Alf Leila wa Leil" ("One Thousand and One Nights"), often performed by "The Lady." With seven instrumentalists, including a qanun player (a type of zither), she dissects the musical principles of this vast sonic tapestry. Breaking with theatrical conventions to adopt those of the legendary singer's concerts, an amateur choir blends into the audience to respond to the events unfolding on stage. Will Umm Kulthum arrive?</div><div><br></div><div> In French, Egyptian Arabic, Turkish and English. French surtitles.</div>