Majida El Roumi
Encyclopedia
Magida El-Roumi was born in Kfarshima
, Lebanon
, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese
singer and a soprano
, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan
on Télé Liban
and won the gold medal for best female singer. Since her appearance on television at the age of 16, she has become one of the most successful singers of the Arab world as well as a UN Goodwill Ambassador
.
(born Hanna El Roumi Baradhy) and wife Marie Loutfi who were a Melkite Greek Catholic
couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. They got married and lived in Kfarshima, they had three girls Maha, Mona, and Magida, and a boy Awad. Halim el Roumi became a musician and continued to live in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers, among them Philemon Wehbi, Melhem Barakat
and Issam Rajji
. The residence of Halim el Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in an artistic environment, Magida listened to the works of Fairuz
, Umm Kulthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab
, Wadi AlSafi, and Asmahan
. Her vocal abilities attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. One of the early songs she sang was "Your Birth" or Miladak in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Raymond Safadi, Magida's cousin, thought that she should pursue singing as a profession.
The big obstacle was her father who did not want her to participate in Télé Liban
's Studio el fan. Nevertheless, Magida entered the talent show, singing songs for Asmahan
and Leila Mourad
, like Ya Toyour, Ana Albi Dalili, and Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna. She won the gold medal. Halim El Roumi gave Magida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continued her higher education. Magida obtained her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University
.
In 1977, Magida married a businessman from Byblos
, Lebanon, Antoine Dfouni who was also her manager. They had two daughters: Hala and Nour. They divorced in 2006.
Her sister's death from cancer inspired her to produce several religious albums and release a song in her memory.
and composed by Elias Rahbani. However, the majority of her early 1970s–1980s song were oriental. In all her albums she includes patriotic songs and works by her father.
Magida's self-titled debut album was typical of 1970s Arabic pop, with traditional percussion, a string section, guitar, and keyboard. Her Lebanese patriotism is evident in songs like Nab' El Mahabbeh, which are song in Lebanese Arabic
dialect. This is also true of her 1980s songs Layalina Men Layali El Omr and Ya Saken Afkari. Her first work in classical Arabic was La Taghdabi and Salawna. Magida sang a hit rendition of the Abdel Halim Hafez
's El Touba in 1987.
In 1991, Magida released Kalimat, her first pan-Arab hit, under the Music Master label. The title song was written by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani
and composed by Ihsan El-Mounzer. Other songs by Qabbani were Beirut, Set Eddounia and Ma'a Jarida. Magida initiated the movement that re-popularized classical Arabic poetry in music and began to fuse East and West. 1994's Ibhath Anni followed the template set by Kalimat. Souad Al Sabah's Kon Sadiqi was about empowerment of women. Other patriotic songs were Oum Etthadda and Saqata Al Qina.
In 1996, Magida signed with the Saudi label Rotana
and released Resa'al. Elie Choueiri wrote the opening title Samra' El Nile, a song for Egyptian women. Songs like Shou'oubon Men Al Oushaq and Ainaka blurred the line between what classical and Arabic music, while Lawen Ma'i El Iyam employed Magida's operatic skills and Hobbouka evoked songs from Eastern Europe. She also perform's Choueiri's song about the Qana massacre. Magida's father composed Mimi, by the Rahbani Brothers
, in honor of Magida's daughter.
In 1998, Magida released her ninth official album, Ouhibbouka Wa Ba'd, working with Saudi poet Al Nasser and composer/singer Abdel Rab Idriss, who produced the title song. Tawq Al Yasmin marked Magida's fourth collaboration with Qabbani and her first with Iraqi singer/songwriter Kathem Al Saher
. Salama composed three songs, Al Qalb Al Maftouh, Inta El Madi, and Sayedi El Ra'is, which was written in the form of a letter to the president. He also arranged Al Yawm Aada Habibi, a duet with her father.
After the death of her sister Maha, Magida did not sing secular music for close to a decade. In 2003, she released two religious albums titled Cithare Du Ciel and Erhamni Ya Allah. She sang a special rendition of the song "Ave Maria."
In 2006, she signed for an album with Good News Production that spoke to a younger audience. "E'tazalt El Gharam" (I Quit Love) was released with a video directed by Nadine Labaki. Magida worked with many new names, like singer/songwriter Marwan Khoury
as well as musicians Jean-Marie Riachi
and Claude Chalhoub
. The new musicians updated Magida's style while keeping the old-world charm. Melhem Barakat
composed the title song. Said Akl
contributed "Sawfa Nabqa", an ode to Lebanon. Composers Ihsan El Mounzer, Joseph Khalifa and Kamal Saiqali put Gibran Khalil Gibran's words to music for Magida in "Nashid Lel Hob." "Nashid El Zafaf" is a rendition of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" with congratulatory lyrics by Magida herself. Magida sang "Ma Rah Ez'al A Shi" (I Won't Feel Sad Over Anything) at the annual 2008 Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon.
She wrote the lyrics of Bokra "Tomorrow", a charity single that was released on 11/11/2011 at 11:11PM, the single will distribute the proceeds of its donations to various organisations, institutions and charities with arts and culture programs. The eight minute song was recorded by Shakira, Rim Banna, Akon, Tamer Hosni, Diana Karazon, Marwan Khoury, Latifa, Souad Massi, Hani Mitwassi, Saber El Roba3i, Kathem El Saher, Wa3ed, Sherine and other Arab Artists. It was produced by Quincy Jones and RedOne. More information about the song can be found on www.tomorrowbokra.org.
Her Latest album "Ghazzal" is set to be released on the 18th of December 2011.
movie Awdat Al Ibn Al Dal (The Return of the Prodigal Son) providing also 3 soundtracks for the movie. Chahine introduced her as 'the Voice of the 20th Century' and received the 'Egyptian Critics Award'.
Magida has performed at festivals in Beiteddine, Jerash
, Bosra
and Carthage
, and appeared at the Cairo Opera House
several times, in addition to The Roman theater of Marina, Alexandria. Magida has also performed as Avery Fisher Hall
at Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall
and Hunter College
in New York City as well as the Place des Arts
in Montreal, Fox Theatre (Detroit, Michigan), the Paris Olympia
, Palais des Congrès de Paris
, Athens Concert Hall
in Greece and the Royal Albert Hall
in London. In
December 2006, Magida performed "Light The Way", a duet with the international opera star, José Carreras
at the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. In 2009, she performed "Nous sommes les amis du monde", a duet with Youssou N'dour
, on the inauguration of the "Jeux Olympiques de la Francophonie" in Beirut, Lebanon.
' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO
) on World Food Day, October 16, 2001 in an official ceremony in Rome, Italy. She has participated in numerous round-table discussion on the role of FAO ambassadors in helping the Organization combat world hunger. As FAO ambassador, Majida inaugurated the First Annual Agricultural Week in Lebanon and dedicated the book prepared by FAO
Sanabel El Kheir on November 8, 2005 during an official ceremony to celebrate World Food Day 60th Anniversary at the UNESCO
Palace in Beirut.
Kfarshima
Kfarshima is a town in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, southeast of Beirut. Kfarshima is the birthplace of the composer and musician, Philemon Wehbi and the singers Melhem Barakat and Majida El Roumi. Also the Birthplace of the Philosopher Shibli Shmayyel...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
singer and a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan
Studio el fan
Studio El Fan was a Lebanese talent show broadcast on Télé Liban during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world. Like the Olympics, the show ran every four years for an entire calendar year. Contestants from all over Lebanon competed. The best contestants in the...
on Télé Liban
Télé Liban
Télé Liban became the first Lebanese public television network, owned by the Lebanese government. Télé Liban was a result of the merger of two privately-owned stations, CLT and Télé Orient in 1977. Currently, it mainly broadcasts terrestrially throughout Lebanon. TL is the current Lebanese...
and won the gold medal for best female singer. Since her appearance on television at the age of 16, she has become one of the most successful singers of the Arab world as well as a UN Goodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador is a collective term sometimes used as a substitute honorific title or a title of honor for an Ambassador of Goodwill; but, most appropriately for a generic recognition, it is a job position or description that is usually indicated following the name of the individual recognized...
.
Biography
Magida El Roumi Baradhy (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي برادعي), born to musician Halim El RoumiHalim El Roumi
Halim El Roumi , born Hanna Baradhy , was a Lebanese musician. He was the father of the Lebanese singer, Majida El Roumi....
(born Hanna El Roumi Baradhy) and wife Marie Loutfi who were a Melkite Greek Catholic
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...
couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. They got married and lived in Kfarshima, they had three girls Maha, Mona, and Magida, and a boy Awad. Halim el Roumi became a musician and continued to live in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers, among them Philemon Wehbi, Melhem Barakat
Melhem Barakat
Melhem Barakat , also known as Melhim Barakat, is a Lebanese singer and song-writer. He is nicknamed by his fans as Abou Majd. Melhem Barakat started his career back in the 1960s, Barakat has arguebly established a genre of his own in both the way he sings and composes, which makes him one of the...
and Issam Rajji
Issam Rajji
Issam Rajji was a Lebanese singer and song writer most prominent from 1970s and 80s period....
. The residence of Halim el Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in an artistic environment, Magida listened to the works of Fairuz
Fairuz
Nouhad Wadi Haddad , famously known as Fairuz is a Lebanese singer who is widely considered to be the most famous living singer in the Arab world and one of the best known of all time...
, Umm Kulthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Mohammed Abdel Wahab , also transliterated Mohammed Abd el-Wahaab was a prominent 20th-century Arab Egyptian singer and composer...
, Wadi AlSafi, and Asmahan
Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash , better known by her stage name Asmahan , was a Syrian Druze singer and actress. Having immigrated to Egypt in childhood, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad...
. Her vocal abilities attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. One of the early songs she sang was "Your Birth" or Miladak in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Raymond Safadi, Magida's cousin, thought that she should pursue singing as a profession.
The big obstacle was her father who did not want her to participate in Télé Liban
Télé Liban
Télé Liban became the first Lebanese public television network, owned by the Lebanese government. Télé Liban was a result of the merger of two privately-owned stations, CLT and Télé Orient in 1977. Currently, it mainly broadcasts terrestrially throughout Lebanon. TL is the current Lebanese...
's Studio el fan. Nevertheless, Magida entered the talent show, singing songs for Asmahan
Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash , better known by her stage name Asmahan , was a Syrian Druze singer and actress. Having immigrated to Egypt in childhood, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad...
and Leila Mourad
Leila Mourad
Leila Mourad was an Egyptian singer and actress. She is also credited as "Laila Mourad" and "Layla Mourad".- Life :Leila Mourad was born in Al Daher, Cairo on February 17, 1918 to an Egyptian of Iraqi Jewish descent father, Zaki Mourad, a respected singer and musician in the twenties, and to a...
, like Ya Toyour, Ana Albi Dalili, and Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna. She won the gold medal. Halim El Roumi gave Magida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continued her higher education. Magida obtained her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University
Lebanese University
The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 17 faculties as of 2006 and serves various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers....
.
In 1977, Magida married a businessman from Byblos
Byblos
Byblos is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal . It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of Jubayl and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades...
, Lebanon, Antoine Dfouni who was also her manager. They had two daughters: Hala and Nour. They divorced in 2006.
Her sister's death from cancer inspired her to produce several religious albums and release a song in her memory.
Music career
Magida was one of the first modern singers to combine western classical music and Arabic classical music (tarab). Her first hit was Am Behlamak Ya Helm Ya Lebnan, written by poet Said AklSaid Akl
Said Akl is a Lebanese poet, writer, and playwright. He is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets. He is also a staunch advocate of Lebanese identity and nationalism and the Lebanese language, designing a Latin-based Lebanese alphabet made up of 37 letters.-Early life:Akl was...
and composed by Elias Rahbani. However, the majority of her early 1970s–1980s song were oriental. In all her albums she includes patriotic songs and works by her father.
Magida's self-titled debut album was typical of 1970s Arabic pop, with traditional percussion, a string section, guitar, and keyboard. Her Lebanese patriotism is evident in songs like Nab' El Mahabbeh, which are song in Lebanese Arabic
Lebanese Arabic
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is a variety of Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebanon, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other Middle Eastern and European languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic...
dialect. This is also true of her 1980s songs Layalina Men Layali El Omr and Ya Saken Afkari. Her first work in classical Arabic was La Taghdabi and Salawna. Magida sang a hit rendition of the Abdel Halim Hafez
Abdel Halim Hafez
Abdel Halim Ali Shabana commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez , is among the most popular Egyptian and Arab singers and performers. In addition to singing, Halim was also an actor, conductor, business man, music teacher and movie producer...
's El Touba in 1987.
In 1991, Magida released Kalimat, her first pan-Arab hit, under the Music Master label. The title song was written by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani was a Syrian diplomat, poet and publisher. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, and Arab nationalism...
and composed by Ihsan El-Mounzer. Other songs by Qabbani were Beirut, Set Eddounia and Ma'a Jarida. Magida initiated the movement that re-popularized classical Arabic poetry in music and began to fuse East and West. 1994's Ibhath Anni followed the template set by Kalimat. Souad Al Sabah's Kon Sadiqi was about empowerment of women. Other patriotic songs were Oum Etthadda and Saqata Al Qina.
In 1996, Magida signed with the Saudi label Rotana
Rotana Records
Rotana Records is the Arab World's largest record label. It is owned by the Rotana Group, established by the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who sometimes personally signs artists to the label. Rotana Records is part of a huge media empire that includes a film production company, a magazine in...
and released Resa'al. Elie Choueiri wrote the opening title Samra' El Nile, a song for Egyptian women. Songs like Shou'oubon Men Al Oushaq and Ainaka blurred the line between what classical and Arabic music, while Lawen Ma'i El Iyam employed Magida's operatic skills and Hobbouka evoked songs from Eastern Europe. She also perform's Choueiri's song about the Qana massacre. Magida's father composed Mimi, by the Rahbani Brothers
Rahbani brothers
The Rahbani Brothers , Assi Rahbani and Mansour Rahbani , were Lebanese composers, musicians, songwriters, authors, playwrights/dramatists, philosophers, and poets...
, in honor of Magida's daughter.
In 1998, Magida released her ninth official album, Ouhibbouka Wa Ba'd, working with Saudi poet Al Nasser and composer/singer Abdel Rab Idriss, who produced the title song. Tawq Al Yasmin marked Magida's fourth collaboration with Qabbani and her first with Iraqi singer/songwriter Kathem Al Saher
Kathem Al Saher
Kadim Al Sahir , is an Iraqi singer, composer, and poet. He has been dubbed the "Caesar of Arabic Song", "George Michael of the Arab world", "Iraq’s Diplomatic Ambassador to the world", and "Iraq’s Ambassador for Peace"....
. Salama composed three songs, Al Qalb Al Maftouh, Inta El Madi, and Sayedi El Ra'is, which was written in the form of a letter to the president. He also arranged Al Yawm Aada Habibi, a duet with her father.
After the death of her sister Maha, Magida did not sing secular music for close to a decade. In 2003, she released two religious albums titled Cithare Du Ciel and Erhamni Ya Allah. She sang a special rendition of the song "Ave Maria."
In 2006, she signed for an album with Good News Production that spoke to a younger audience. "E'tazalt El Gharam" (I Quit Love) was released with a video directed by Nadine Labaki. Magida worked with many new names, like singer/songwriter Marwan Khoury
Marwan Khoury
Marwan Khoury is a Lebanese singer, writer, composer and music arranger. His compositions are performed by some of the most famous artists in the Arab World and adapted by many other countries including Turkey...
as well as musicians Jean-Marie Riachi
Jean-Marie Riachi
Jean-Marie Riachi is a Lebanese arranger, composer and record producer.Riachi grew up in a non-musical family, however his passion and talent in music was obvious when he started playing the keyboard at the age of eight...
and Claude Chalhoub
Claude Chalhoub
Claude Chalhoub Born in Beirut in 1974, he began studying the violin at the age of eight and initially played Arabic music. He was awarded a prestigious Queen Elizabeth scholarship by London’s Royal College of Music, chosen to be concertmaster in Daniel Barenboimís «West-Eastern Divanî, Chalhoub...
. The new musicians updated Magida's style while keeping the old-world charm. Melhem Barakat
Melhem Barakat
Melhem Barakat , also known as Melhim Barakat, is a Lebanese singer and song-writer. He is nicknamed by his fans as Abou Majd. Melhem Barakat started his career back in the 1960s, Barakat has arguebly established a genre of his own in both the way he sings and composes, which makes him one of the...
composed the title song. Said Akl
Said Akl
Said Akl is a Lebanese poet, writer, and playwright. He is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets. He is also a staunch advocate of Lebanese identity and nationalism and the Lebanese language, designing a Latin-based Lebanese alphabet made up of 37 letters.-Early life:Akl was...
contributed "Sawfa Nabqa", an ode to Lebanon. Composers Ihsan El Mounzer, Joseph Khalifa and Kamal Saiqali put Gibran Khalil Gibran's words to music for Magida in "Nashid Lel Hob." "Nashid El Zafaf" is a rendition of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" with congratulatory lyrics by Magida herself. Magida sang "Ma Rah Ez'al A Shi" (I Won't Feel Sad Over Anything) at the annual 2008 Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon.
She wrote the lyrics of Bokra "Tomorrow", a charity single that was released on 11/11/2011 at 11:11PM, the single will distribute the proceeds of its donations to various organisations, institutions and charities with arts and culture programs. The eight minute song was recorded by Shakira, Rim Banna, Akon, Tamer Hosni, Diana Karazon, Marwan Khoury, Latifa, Souad Massi, Hani Mitwassi, Saber El Roba3i, Kathem El Saher, Wa3ed, Sherine and other Arab Artists. It was produced by Quincy Jones and RedOne. More information about the song can be found on www.tomorrowbokra.org.
Her Latest album "Ghazzal" is set to be released on the 18th of December 2011.
Performances
In 1976, Magida starred in Youssef ChahineYoussef Chahine
Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...
movie Awdat Al Ibn Al Dal (The Return of the Prodigal Son) providing also 3 soundtracks for the movie. Chahine introduced her as 'the Voice of the 20th Century' and received the 'Egyptian Critics Award'.
Magida has performed at festivals in Beiteddine, Jerash
Jerash
Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity, is the capital and largest city of Jerash Governorate , which is situated in the north of Jordan, north of the capital Amman towards Syria...
, Bosra
Bosra
Bosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
and Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, and appeared at the Cairo Opera House
Cairo Opera House
The Cairo Opera House , part of Cairo's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the Zamalek district west of and near downtown...
several times, in addition to The Roman theater of Marina, Alexandria. Magida has also performed as Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
at Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York City as well as the Place des Arts
Place des Arts
right|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
in Montreal, Fox Theatre (Detroit, Michigan), the Paris Olympia
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
, Palais des Congrès de Paris
Palais des congrès de Paris
The Palais des congrès de Paris is a concert venue and convention centre in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. The venue was built by French architect Guillaume Gillet, and was inaugurated in 1974. Nearby the venue are Bois de Boulogne and the affluent neighbourhood of Neuilly-sur-Seine...
, Athens Concert Hall
Athens Concert Hall
The Athens Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Athens, on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue....
in Greece and the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London. In
December 2006, Magida performed "Light The Way", a duet with the international opera star, José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
at the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. In 2009, she performed "Nous sommes les amis du monde", a duet with Youssou N'dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
, on the inauguration of the "Jeux Olympiques de la Francophonie" in Beirut, Lebanon.
Public positions
Magida El Roumi was appointed an ambassador for the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
) on World Food Day, October 16, 2001 in an official ceremony in Rome, Italy. She has participated in numerous round-table discussion on the role of FAO ambassadors in helping the Organization combat world hunger. As FAO ambassador, Majida inaugurated the First Annual Agricultural Week in Lebanon and dedicated the book prepared by FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
Sanabel El Kheir on November 8, 2005 during an official ceremony to celebrate World Food Day 60th Anniversary at the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Palace in Beirut.
Albums
- Wadaa (The goodbye) (1977)
- Live RecordingsLive Recordings (Majida El Rouni album)Live Recordings is an album by Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi. Featuring a historic performance of "Am Bahlamak".-Track listing:*#"Am Behlamak"#"Helem El Jayeh"#"Etr"#"Min Zaman"#"Nostalgia"...
(1982) - And the Children (1983)
- Dawi Ya Amar (1987) released in Egypt
- Ya Saken Afkari (1988)
- Kalimat (1991)
- Ibhath Anni (1994)
- Rasa'el (1996)
- Ouhibbouka Wa Baad (1998)
- Cithare Du Ciel (Qitharat Al Sama') (2003)
- Erhamni Ya Allah (2003)
- E'tazalt El Gharam (2006)
Egyptian songs: remakes
- La Mush Ana Elli Abki (Mohammad Abdel Wahab) – originally sung by Abdel Wahab
- Ana koulli magoul al-touba (Lyrics: Abdel Rahman El-Abnoudi / Music: Baligh Hamdi) – originally sung by Abdel Halim Hafez
- Ba7lef bi Samaha (Lyrics: Abdel Rahman El-Abnoudi / Music: Kamal Al-Tawil) – originally sung by Abdel Halim Hafez
- Layali Al-ouns bi Vienna (Music: Farid Al-Atrach) – originally sung by Asmahan
- Ya Touyour (Music: Al-Kassabji) – originally sung by Asmahan
- Emta 7a te3raf – originally sung by Asmahan
- Ana Albi Dalili (Music: Al-Kassabji) – originally sung by Leila Mourad
Awards
- The Golden Cedar, Lebanon, 1988
- National Order of the Cedar (Knight), Lebanon, 1994
- The Médecines Sans Frontières Shield
- Le Bouclier de l'information et de la culture / Algerian Shield of Culture, Algeria, 2005
- The Shield of Honour from the Syrian Ministry of Culture, Syria
- The Shield of Honour from Jordan
- The Shield of Honour from Morocco
- The Shield of Honour from Tunis, 2010
- The Shield of Honour from Lebanon - Order of the Cedars, 2011