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{{short description|Syrian-singer (1912-1944)}}
{{Citations missing|date=March 2009}}

{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Asmahan<br/>{{nobold|{{lang|ar|أسمهان}}}}
|Name = Asmahan
|Img = Asmahan photo.jpg
| image = Asmahan photo.jpg
| image_size =
|Img_capt = Asmahan
| caption = Asmahan
|Img_size = 250
| birth_name = Amal al-Atrash<br/>{{lang|ar|آمال الأطرش}}
|Background = solo_singer
| alias =
|Birth_name = Amal Al-Atrash
| birth_date = November 25, 1912
|Alias =
| birth_place =
|Born = 18 November 1918<ref name="imdb">{{imdb name|0039543}}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|1944|7|14|1912|11|25}}
|Died = 14 July 1944, [[Egypt]]
| death_place = [[Mansoura]], [[Kingdom of Egypt]]
|Origin =
| genre = [[Arabic music]]
|Instrument =
| occupation = [[Singing|Singer]], [[actor]]
|Genre = [[Arabic Music]] ([[Music of Syria|Syrian]], [[Music of Egypt|Egyptian]])
| instrument =
|Occupation = [[Singer]], [[Actor]]
| years_active = 1931–1944
|Years_active =
| label =
|Label =
| past_member_of = [[Farid al-Atrash]]
|Associated_acts =
| website =
|URL =
|Current_members =
|Past_members =
}}
}}


'''Amal al-Atrash''' ({{langx|ar|آمال الأطرش}} ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Āmāl al-Aṭrash}}'', <small> [[North Levantine Arabic|North Levantine]]</small> {{IPA|ar|(ʔ)æːmæːl lˈ(ʔ)ætˤrɑʃ}}; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944),<ref name="al-mada">[http://almadapaper.net/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=64405 "منزل الفنانة أسمهان بات متحفاً"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130111235017/http://almadapaper.net/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=64405 |date=2013-01-11 }}, ''Al-Mada''</ref> better known by her stage name '''Asmahan''' ({{lang|ar|أسمهان}}, {{IPA|ar|ʔasmahaːn}} ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Asmahān}}''), was a Syrian [[singer]].<ref name="Swayd2015">{{cite book|author=Samy Swayd|title=Historical Dictionary of the Druzes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eL0qBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57|date=10 March 2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4617-1|page=57}}</ref>
'''Asmahan''' ({{lang-ar|'''أسمهان'''}} ''{{transl|ar|Asmahān}}''; birth name: '''Amal al-Atrash'''; November 18, 1918 &ndash; July 14, 1944)<ref name="imdb"/> was a famous [[Arab]] singer. She was the sister of [[Farid al-Atrash]], a famous singer in his own right, and a member of the famous [[Druze]] family of [[al-Atrash]], known for its role in the resistance against the French mandate in the 1920s.


Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer [[Dawood Hosni]], and she sang the compositions of [[Mohamed El Qasabgi]] and [[Zakariyya Ahmad]].<ref name="lebarmy.gov.lb">{{cite web|url=http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/article.asp?ln=ar&id=8358|title=Lebanese Army Journal, Issue Number 241, July 2005|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111224421/http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/article.asp?ln=ar&id=8358|archive-date=2013-11-11|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>al-Atrash, Majid (2005), Asmahan: Amirat at-tarab was-saif wan-nada (Asmahan: The princess of music, war and grace) al-'Adyat magazine, p.75–77, in Arabic</ref> She also sang the compositions of [[Mohammed Abdel Wahab]] and her brother [[Farid al-Atrash]], a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of [[Umm Kulthum]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=85}}</ref> who is considered to be one of the [[Arab world]]'s most distinguished singers of the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Story.aspx?sid=1301 Prominent Egyptians - Egyptian Government State Information Service]</ref> Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged [[espionage]] role in [[World War II]].
== Early career ==
She was born on a ship heading from Greece to Lebanon. Asmahan started her career in [[Syria]] and Lebanon, then traveled to [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]], where she worked with many famous composers such as [[Riyadh el-Sonbati]] and [[Mohamed El Qasabgi]]. Her films include ''intisar echabab'' and ''garam wentikam''.


== Family ==
== Early life ==
Asmahan was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a [[Syria]]n [[Druze]] from [[As-Suwayda|Suwayda]], and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] Druze from [[Hasbaya]]. Her father came from the Druze [[al-Atrash]] clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the [[French mandate of Syria|French]] occupation.<ref>{{Citation|last=Provence|first=Michael |title=The great Syrian revolt and the rise of Arab nationalism|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2005|edition=illustrated|pages=72|isbn=978-0-292-70680-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej8ZMk1822sC&q=sultan+al+atrash&pg=PA72}}</ref>
* Asmahan's father is Fahd al-Atrash, a [[Syrian]] [[Druz]]. Her father divorced her mother later on.
* Her mother 'Aleya Menzer is a [[lebanon|Lebanese]] Druze. She was a singer and an [[oud]] player. She was known to be the source of inspiration for her children.
* Her brother [[Farid al-Atrash|Farid]] was a musician, singer and a virtuoso oud player; he composed many of her songs.
* She also had a brother Fouad, and a sister and another brother who died very young.


Asmahan's father supposedly served as governor of the district of [[Demirci]] in [[Turkey]], during the last days of the [[Ottoman Empire]], when he fled the country with his children and pregnant wife. On 25 November 1912, they embarked on a ship from [[İzmir]] to [[Beirut]], and Asmahan was born on board. She was named "Amal", meaning "hope". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the name "Amal". After the French came into power, the family returned to [[Jabal al-Druze (state)|Jabal al-Druze]].<ref name="Enchantment 83">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|1998|p=81}}</ref>
== Life ==
[[Image:Farid Asmahan.jpg|thumb|Asmahan and her brother Farid]]
Her father was governor of the district of [[Demirci]] in [[Turkey]], during the last days of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. When [[Syria]] fell to the allies in 1918 he feared revenge, and on October 24, 1918 he fled the country with his two sons and pregnant wife. They took the boat from [[İzmir]] to [[Beirut]], and Asmahan was born on that boat. She was named "Amal" ({{lang-ar|آمال}} ''{{transl|ar|Āmāl}}''), meaning "hopes". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the name "Amal".


Following the [[Adham Khanjar|Adham Khanjar incident]] in 1922, the al-Atrash home in [[al-Qurayya|al-Qrayya]] (a town in [[Jabal al-Druze]]) was bombed by French forces. 'Alia fled with her children to [[Damascus]] and, despite orders from Fahd, refused to return.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|pp=38}}</ref> Asmahan later recalled her childhood years in Jabal al-Druze as "untouched by anything truly bad".<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=36}}</ref> 'Alia and the three children travelled to [[Beirut]], but, after discovering that the French were searching for them there, they stopped in [[Haifa]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and travelled from there to Egypt, where she sought political asylum for herself and her three children; they were later granted the right of political asylum in 1926 by the [[Egyptian Government]], thus naturalized as Egyptian citizens.<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=38-39">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|pp=38–39}}</ref>
Her parents separated in her early childhood. Her father returned to his hometown in [[As Suwayda|Sweida]], while the rest of the family emigrated to [[Egypt]] (around 1923), where they were naturalized as [[Egypt]]ian citizens later on. Her mother 'Aleya Menzer started singing at private parties to support herself and her children. Everyone in the family could sing (the mother and Farid could also play oud), but success was only to crown the efforts of the two most gifted: Farid and Amal.
She was known for her beauty and fear of water.


===Immigration to Egypt===
== Asmahan and her debut ==
[[File:Aleya Al Menzer and her Children.jpg|thumb|right|'Alia and her children after arrival in Egypt]]
Amal's vocal talent was discovered at an early age. Little Amal used to sing at home and in the school's special celebrations. She loved particularly to sing Oum Koulthoum's songs (which are very difficult to sing because of their wide and high tessitura and difficult florid and coloraturas passages full of every sort of complex vocal ornamentation typical of the oriental music) and also Mohammad Abdel Wahab's songs (Abdel Wahab was famous for his pure and chic line of singing who gave away all unnecessary ornamentation and just kept the essentials that suit the dramatic essence of the lyrics and the song's meaning).
'Alia chose to immigrate to [[Cairo]], because she knew that Egypt's then [[nationalist]] prime minister [[Saad Zaghloul]] and her husband's relative, [[Sultan al-Atrash]] were on corresponding terms.<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=38-39"/><ref>{{YouTube|WoFmMGNOxLs|Interview with Fuad al-Atrash. Time 4:34.}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=39}}</ref> According to family accounts, 'Alia was permitted to enter [[Egypt]] under the sponsorship of Saad Zaghloul. Many other Syrians and Lebanese were present in Egypt in this period.


Asmahan and her family first lived in an apartment in a humble section of Cairo. Her mother did laundry and sewing to support the family.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=41}}</ref> She had an excellent voice, could play the [[Oud|`ud]], sang at parties and made some recordings. Asmahan and her brothers attended a French Catholic school. In order to receive waivers for the high cost of tuition, 'Alia registered them under the alias ''Kusah'' (meaning "courgette") rather than trying to convince school officials that members of the wealthy{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} al-Atrash family were destitute.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|pp=41, 53}}</ref> 'Alia received a monthly stipend from a secret benefactor rumored to be [[Charles Richard Crane|"Baron" Crane]] (of the [[King–Crane Commission]]) according to one Egyptian journalist. This allowed her to cover the costs of her children's school's tuition, and a nicer apartment on Habib Shalabi Street.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|pp=42, 44}}</ref>
Their family friend, the Lebanese musician Farid Ghosn, introduced the young talent Amal to Zakaria Ahmad, Mohammad el Qasabji and Daoud Hosni, who were all under the spell of her enchanting voice and musical talent. Hosni suggested her name be changed to Asmahan in memory of an old Persian singer.
There is another version of her discovery: Once her brother Farid (still a debutant singer and Oud player) was receiving at home one of the biggest musicians in Egypt; the famous composer Daoud Hosni, who happened to hear her singing while she was in her room, so he demanded to see her immediately and asked her to sing again, so Amal sang one more time and Daoud Hosni was very impressed and pleased, after she finished he told her that he once had a pupil who had a beautiful voice, but died at a very young age before knowing the fame she would have deserved, so therefore she was named after her and called Asmahan and so henceforth Amal became Asmahan.


==Career==
[[Image:Asmahan1.jpg|thumb|left|Picture of Asmahan]]
At the age of sixteen, Asmahan was solicited by a record company to register her first Album which featured her first song Ya Nar Fouadi by Farid Ghosn. With the music and singing taking all her time she had to drop out of school, but she had already joined one of the most prestigious music academies in Egypt. She had the biggest names in music as her mentors or Pygmalions: Farid Ghosn, Daoud Hosni, Mohammad El Qasabji And Zakaria Ahmad who gave her all the vocal training and music lessons (though she learned music from an early age at her school). With their help she was offered a contract with Colombia Recordings.


===Musical debut===
Asmahan's rise to fame was very quick, her repertoire started growing with songs composed by El Qasabji, Farid Ghosn and another song "Ahedni Ya Albi" by Zakaria Ahmed. Her first public performance was in the prestigious Cairo Opera (where only real talents only get there after years of hard work as their final consecration or recognition as an accredited artist). She was also asked to sing in the aristocratic family celebrations. She also started singing at Mary Mansour's night club alongside her brother Farid.
Amal's vocal talent was discovered at an early age. Once, when her brother Farid received one of Egypt's most famous composers, Dawood Hosni, in their home, the latter overheard her singing in her room, and insisted on seeing her immediately. He then asked her to sing again. He was much impressed by the performance, and suggested the stage name of Asmahan to her. Amal began using that name.


Asmahan rose to fame quickly: she was not even fourteen (or seventeen, since her birth date is disputed) years old when she was introduced to the public at a concert at the prestigious [[Cairo Opera House]].<ref name="Images of Enchantment. p. 82"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exzuhasp.html|title=University of Texas Press|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> She sang and recorded songs composed by Farid Ghosn, Dawood Hosni, Mohamed El Qasabgi, and Zakariyya Ahmad. At fourteen, Asmahan was invited by an Egyptian record company to make her first album, featuring her first song "Ya Nar Fouadi" by Farid Ghosn.
But it wasn't long before her cousin Prince [[Hassan al-Atrash]] came to Cairo and asked for her hand in marriage, so she returned to Syria where the marriage was celebrated in 1933, and gave birth to a daughter, Camellia. She lived in Sweida, her home town, where people dubbed her "The Princess of the Mountain" (of [[Jabal el Druze]] mountain).


A variety of teachers advanced her vocal and musical studies. Hosni volunteered to instruct Asmahan on how to play the [[oud]]; Qasabgi comments however on the mature level of her sight reading and musicality by the time she performed his work, some years later. However, her brothers wanted her to marry and return to Syria. Her cousin, Hassan al-Atrash travelled to Egypt, bringing with him a different cousin interested in Asmahan, however, once Hassan, who had already married five times, saw Asmahan, he pursued her and she returned to Syria for at least four years, interrupting her musical career.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
Her marriage ended in divorce four years later. After that she returned to [[Cairo]] and resumed her singing career, where she married the director [[Ahmed Baderkhan]], but they were soon divorced. In 1941 she went back to Syria and re-married her cousin Hassan for a short time. Finally, she married the director [[Ahmed Salem]].


===Egypt's influence===
== Asmahan's originality and voice characteristics ==
Since Asmahan sang in Egypt, the lyrics of her songs were written in classical Arabic and in a more colloquial Arabic, but she also sang in the Eastern dialect of Arabic. Asmahan was said to have preciously replicated songs by [[Umm Kulthoum]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Al-Taba'i|2008|p=82}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Al-Taba'i|2008|p=26}}</ref> When asked to sing about cultural patriotism and love, she sang of Egypt."<ref name="Asmahan's Secrets. p. 216">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=216}}</ref> Since singers and studios depended on the elites, Asmahan had to sing songs on uplifting nationalist themes or in praise of the Egyptian royal family.<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=13">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=13}}</ref> At the beginning of her career she sang in the nightclub owned by Mary Mansour, Sala Masriyya.
[[Image:Asmahan.jpg|thumb|Asmahan]]
Known for her wide vocal range, Asmahan's voice could cover the low notes and Oriental Modes and sub-modes to reach the upper Soprano measures; this is shown in her song ya toyoor where she reaches a high A with ease and brio. Asmahan's voice could be seen as the mixture of two oriental divas' voices opposed in style and interpretation [[Fairouz]], famous of her angelic tone of voice who was among the first to adopt the western (old Italian school of singing) singing method using a head resonance technique that is nearer to [[falsetto]] at a time where the nasal and chest resonance technique was reigning in the Arabic singing scene, and who despite the fact that her voice is hard to be classified between the mezzo-contralto ([[alto]]) and [[mezzo-soprano]] could reach high notes yet with less power than Asmahan but have a wide range of dynamics ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo from bottom to top, and [[Sabah (singer)]] who is famous for her powerful voice whose technique is similar to the American Broadway belting technique ([[belt (music)]]), alongside her phenomenal long breath where she can hold a high note for more than one minute.
Too much pressure (chest resonance technique) will deprive the singer from using a lot of dynamics as he will lose all the pianissimo and the bridge between the head and chest voices will be very difficult, not to mention that the [[legato]] line singing will be impossible and that the vocal range will shorten where the head register becomes weak. On the other hand the head voice technique (typical of the Western classical and operatic singing) will eliminate any chest resonance so the voice will become too sweet or artificial and consequently lose all the power and dramatic capacities required for the oriental [[Tarab]] genre


Asmahan's older brother, Fuad, and other Druze relatives considered a career in entertainment for a girl to be disgraceful.<ref name="Images of Enchantment. p. 82">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|1998|p=82}}</ref> For them, culturally, "Egypt was a planetary distance from the small villages of the Druze."<ref name="Asmahan's Secrets. p. 54">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=54}}</ref> and it was difficult for her relatives to accept Asmahan's integration into the heterogeneous Egyptian social scene. The clearly defined divisions, along religious lines, of the Syrian countryside did not operate in Egypt. During the period when she was married to her cousin, Hassan, and then later in 1941, when she remarried him and returned to Egypt, her musical career came to a standstill. When the marriage first broke up, she left for Egypt immediately, even before she had obtained the bill of divorce.<ref name="Asmahan's Secrets. p. 98"/> With her return to Egypt and a singing career, she finally repudiated "respectability" by appearing onscreen (she had not appeared in "Layla Majun" but her voice is featured) leaving both her relatives and Syrian Druze society furious. When her first film, ''Intisar al-Shabab'', was released in Syria, one young Druze shot at the screen when the character played by Asmahan appeared.<ref name="Asmahan's Secrets. p. 98">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=98}}</ref> Asmahan, bi-national or, in contemporary parlance, trans-national by then, had become "a sophisticated ''foreigner'' to the young men in the Jabal Druze."<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=95}}</ref>
Asmahan's voice was so powerful that despite her heavy singing she was still able to use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone of voice a very demanding high pitched musical line with a very impressing and elegant [[Legato]] (the [[vocalization]]) in Ya touyour by [[Mohamed El Qasabgi]] and in a light color of voice (reaching a high A=LA) then return to sing the medium notes and reach the low register with the typical Arabic (nasal+chest) technique. Besides the fact that she was the first Arabic singer to use the classical western technique, very few performers are able to alternate two opposed styles of interpretation and technique in one song.


==Personal life==
Some say that [[Nahwand]] had similar vocal abilities as Asmahan. Another specialty about her talent was her strength of breath and its duration, accompanied by her ability to switch between various musical notes in one musical sentence, a talent only shared with Fairouz.
[[File:Asmahan_and_her_mother_'Alia_al-Mundhir.jpg|thumb|Asmahan with her mother 'Alia al-Mundhir]]
In 1933, Asmahan's cousin, Hassan al-Atrash, came to Cairo and proposed marriage, requesting that Asmahan abandon her musical career.<ref>{{Harvnb|Al-Taba'i|2008|p=51}}</ref> She agreed on three conditions: that they live in Damascus rather than [[Jabal al-Druze]], winter in Cairo, and that she would never be required to wear the traditional [[hijab]].<ref name="Zuhur 2000">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydFpAAAAMAAJ|title=Steel and Silk|first=Sami M.|last=Moubayed|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Cune Press, LLC|isbn=9781885942418|access-date=5 August 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref> They married and moved first to [[Ira, Syria|'Ara]] where the al-Atrash retain a large home, and then built their own home in Suwayda. Asmahan gave birth to her daughter, Kamellia. Eventually, Asmahan missed her career and her life in Cairo;<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|pp=69–70}}</ref> and in 1939, she and Hassan were divorced. In her final confrontation with her cousin at [[Mena House Oberoi|Mena House]] Hotel in [[Giza]], she told him, "I stood with you for independence and liberation, I did. But, I was created for another purpose. I prefer the work of Farid, and the work of Umm Kulthum, and of art."<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=99}}</ref> She returned to Cairo and resumed her singing career, entering a short marriage to Egyptian director [[Ahmed Badrakhan]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=The lost honor of Farid al-Atrash, Egyptian legend|url=https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-the-lost-honor-of-farid-al-atrash-1.5355155|access-date=2021-02-18|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en}}</ref>

In 1941, she returned to Syria in a dramatic and secret journey under the auspices of the British. Hassan agreed to meet with her, and used the occasion to successfully entreat her to remarry him. During the time they were married, she twice attempted suicide. Tabloid newspapers suggested that this was so that she could obtain a second divorce from Hassan; however, it seemed he actually agreed due to her visits to [[King David Hotel]], Jerusalem where wild rumours attached to her behaviour and overspending. Her third and final marriage was to the Egyptian director Ahmed Salem, supposedly to facilitate her return to Egypt over impositions by government authorities. It is unclear how that would occur, however, and she had an ongoing studio contract in Egypt. Asmahan was close friends with the al Othman family and met with them when she travelled to Haifa, Palestine, when they helped her.

Also in 1941, Asmahan met Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egypt's most distinguished singer and composer, and starred with him in his operetta ''Magnun Layla'' ("''Besotted with Layla''").<ref name="weekly.ahram.org.eg">[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/933/ee2.htm Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Weekly. Issue #933. 2009-02-05.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725070959/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/933/ee2.htm |date=July 25, 2009 }}</ref> Abdel Wahab introduced her to the journalist, [[Mohamed El-Tabii|Mohamed al-Taba'i]], who suggests that she was in love with him, but the tone of his writing indicates that he was in love with her, but did not respect her. He suggests she had affairs or at least an ongoing relationship with the royal chamberlain [[Ahmed Hassanein|Ahmed Pasha Hassanein]] but this might be exaggerted. Her brothers, Fuad and Farid, were no longer able to monitor her movements.<ref name="Enchantment 83"/> Her brother was a noted gambler; she and her friends also partied, smoked, drank and gambled. She became very ill for a period, but recordings show that her voice did not suffer.

Asmahan was proud of her family background,<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=13"/> and always mentioned her father and his cousin, [[Sultan al-Atrash]], to clarify her ancestry — once saying to al-Taba'i, after he had just insulted her, "Don't you know who I am? Why I am the daughter of Fahd al-Atrash and cousin to the Amir al-Atrash and the Druze revolutionary hero Sultan al-Atrash.<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=37">{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=37}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Al-Taba'i|2008|pp=108–109}}</ref> Asmahan was not a first cousin of Hassan's, but referred to him as "ibn 'ammi" to the Egyptians, in fact, she was his second cousin, twice removed (by generation).<ref name="Zuhur 2000 p=37"/>

== Vocal characteristics ==
{{Original research section|date=July 2009}}
[[File:Asmahan.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Asmahan]]
Asmahan's noted wide vocal range included [[contralto]] and dramatic [[mezzo-soprano]] (as one can hear in her rendition of "Ya Tuyur" where she reaches a high A with ease and brio). Asmahan's voice has been compared to Fairuz and Sabah.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC&q=Asmahan%27s+voice+has+been+compared+to+Fairuz+and+Sabah&pg=PA24|title=Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia|last=Shoup|first=John A.|date=2011-10-31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598843620|language=en}}</ref> However, as she began her career more than two decades earlier, she had not in fact, adopted the Italian singing technique known as [[bel canto]], but rather learned singing from many admirable models of her own period and in Egypt where a much more diverse group of singers performed, and at a time when Arabic singing utilized both nasal and chest resonance.

Asmahan's voice was powerful, but also agile. She generally sang in her chest register but could use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone. It is not incorrect to say that she was the first or one of the first Arabic singers to use the classical western technique, also very few performers are able to alternate two different styles of interpretation and technique in one song (western and arab).<ref name="Zuhur">Zuhur</ref>


== Role in World War II ==
== Role in World War II ==
In 1941, during [[World War II]], Asmahan came back to the [[French Mandate of Syria]] (Syria was under the rule of [[Vichy France]] at that time). She was on a secret mission to convince her people in Jabal el-Druze to allow the [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Free French forces]] to enter [[Syria]] through their territory without a fight. In this way, she filled a similar role to that of [[Edith Piaf]] in [[France]]. The British and Free French promised the independence of [[Syria]] in return, and the [[Druze]] agreed. After the Allies secured [[Syria]] during the [[Syria-Lebanon campaign|Syria-Lebanon Campaign]], General [[Charles de Gaulle]] visited [[Sweida]] (the capital of Jabal el-Druze) where he met Asmahan, his successful messenger.
In 1941, during [[World War II]], Asmahan returned to the [[French Mandate of Syria]] (Syria, then under the rule of [[Vichy France]]) at the request of the British and the Free French. She was on a secret mission to notify her people in Jabal al-Druze that the [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Free French forces]] would be invading [[Syria]] through their territory, and to convince them they should not fight. The British and Free French had promised the independence of Syria and Lebanon to all inhabitants on the date of the invasion. The [[Druze]] agreed, even though some groups did not receive word in time and fought the invading forces. After the Allies secured [[Syria]] during the [[Syria-Lebanon campaign|Syria-Lebanon Campaign]], General [[Charles de Gaulle]] visited Syria. When the Allies failed to carry out their promise for Syrian independence, Asmahan tried to contact the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] in Turkey, but was stopped at the border and sent to Lebanon. It was also possible that Asmahan needed money because her husband had cut off her expenses, so she may have tried to reach the Germans simply to obtain funds.<ref name="Zuhur 2000"/>

Asmahan told Mohamed al-Taba'i that she was to receive the sum of £40,000 from the British for her services to the allies.<ref>{{Harvnb|Al-Taba'i|2008|pp=142–146}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=115}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zuhur |first1=Sherifa |title=Asmahan's Secrets: Art, Gender and Cultural Disputations |journal=[[Al-Raida]] |date=2000a |volume=88 |pages=41–44 |doi=10.32380/alrj.v0i0.606|doi-access=free}}</ref> General [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s representative in Cairo was General [[Georges Catroux]]. Catroux's délégué in Damascus, Colonel Collet, stated that the British gave money to Asmahan (and to other Druze men, in his presence) and sent her to the Jabal to secure the support of the Druze before the Allies' invasion.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9NvPEnnpsnwC|title=Syria's Quest for Independence, 1939-1945|first=Salma Mardam|last=Bey|date=1 September 1997|publisher=Ithaca|access-date=5 August 2016|via=Google Books|isbn= 978-0863721755}}</ref> The same information is stated by [[Edward Spears]] in his memoirs.<ref name="Zuhur"/>


== Death ==
== Death ==
On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend of hers crashed into the River [[Nile]] after the driver lost control. Without a door on their side both ladies got stuck and drowned. Nevertheless, the driver managed to escape.
On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend crashed and went into a canal at the side of the road, after the driver lost control near the city of [[Mansoura]], Egypt.<ref name="Zuhur 2000"/> The car was a two-door model and the women were sitting in the backseat. They were presumed to be rendered unconscious and subsequently drowned. The driver, however, managed to escape.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hanan al-Shaykh|title=Beirut Blues|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2013|page=277|isbn=9780307831132}}</ref>


These circumstances gave rise to many suspicions, rumours and conspiracy theories. British intelligence, for example, after many reports circulated claiming she had been working for them, was accused of having got rid of her after she had attempted to meet with German agents. The German [[Gestapo]] was also accused of murdering her for the help she had given the British. Her husband at the time had fought violently with her, and her family's honour had been besmirched by the many rumours.
Asmahan was always afraid of water. When she was young a gypsy told her just as she was born in water she would die in water.


Asmahan was buried in Egypt in accordance with her wishes<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=165}}</ref> as, years later, were her two brothers, Fouad and [[Farid al-Atrash]],<ref>[http://www.classicalarabicmusic.com/fareed_al_atrach.htm Classical Arabic Music Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912032423/http://www.classicalarabicmusic.com/fareed_al_atrach.htm |date=2010-09-12 }}</ref> in the [[Fustat]] plain in Cairo, which she and brother Farid, along with [[Abdel Halim Hafez]],<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/943/ee1.htm Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Newspaper Article. Issue No. 943, 16 - 22 April 2009.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809041701/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/943/ee1.htm |date=August 9, 2009 }}</ref> had restored to some of its former glory.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OJ0-tXE_9MC&q=%22farid%20al-atrash%22%20buried%20egypt&pg=PA96|title=Architecture for the Dead : Cairo's Medieval Necropolis|first1=Galila El|last1=Kadi|first2=Alain|last2=Bonnamy|date=1 January 2007|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press|isbn=9789774160745|access-date=5 August 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref>
These suspicious circumstances gave rise to many rumors and much controversy, comparable to that of Lady [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Diana]]. Tabloids were rife with conspiracy theories, pointing fingers everywhere. They accused the British intelligence – after many reports claiming she was working with them – of getting rid of her after she handed over some military information to the Germans. They also accused the German [[Gestapo]] of killing her for helping the British. And they even accused the prominent singer [[Oum Kulthoum]] of organizing her assassination to eliminate competition.


== Museum ==
== Legacy ==
The [[Egyptian Media Production City]] and a private investor jointly produced a television series depicting the life (and death) of Asmahan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thawra.alwehda.gov.sy/_print_veiw.asp?FileName=45775321720080802231457|title=صحيفة الثورة|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> The Arabic series debuted during the month of Ramadan in 2008. Asmahan was played by Syrian actress [[Sulaf Fawakherji]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/|title=Homepage|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> On 25 November 2015, Google celebrated Asmahan's 103rd birthday using a [[Google doodle]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Asmahan's 103rd Birthday|url=https://doodles.google/doodle/asmahans-103rd-birthday/|website=Google|access-date=25 November 2015}}</ref>
Her house in Syria is located in the French Quarter of Sweida. Years after her death, that house was seized by the Syrian government, and became – like much of the French Quarter – a property of the Syrian Army. It took the government sixty-two years to give in to the demands to turn the house into a museum for Asmahan and Farid.


==Filmography==
The Ministry of Tourism acquired the house in September 2006, but work on it has yet to start.
* ''[[Intisar al-Shabab]]'' ("''Triumph of the Youth''"), 1941
* ''[[Love and Revenge|Gharam wa Intiqam]]'' ("''Love and Revenge''"), 1944


==See also==
A television series in Arabic debuted in 2008 depicting her life and was shown during the month of Ramadan. Asmahan was played by [[Sulaf Fawakherji]].
*[[List of Druze]]


== Notes ==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


==Sources==
== External links ==
*{{citation|last=al-Taba'i|first=Muhammad |title=Asmahan Tells Her Story|year=2008|publisher=Dar al-Shorouk Press|ref=CITEREFAl-Taba'i2008}}
{{Commons cat|Asmahan}}
*{{citation|last=Zuhur|first=Sherifa |title=Images of Enchantment: Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East|publisher=[[American University in Cairo Press]]|year=1998|isbn=977-424-467-2}}
* {{imdb name|0039543}}
*{{citation|last=Zuhur|first=Sherifa|title=Asmahan's Secrets: Woman, War, and Song|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-292-79807-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/asmahanssecretsw00zuhu}}
* [http://www.asmahan.com Asmahan Fan site]
*{{citation|last=Zuhur|first=Sherifa |title=Colors of Enchantment: Theater, Dance, Music and the Visual Arts of the Middle East|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|year=2001|isbn=977-424-607-1}}
* [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Asmahan/31942925364 Asmahan's Facebook Page]
* [http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exzuhasp.html Introduction to ''Asmahan's Secrets''], a biography (ISBN 978-0-292-79807-6)


==External links==
{{Arabic Pop}}
{{Portal|Egypt|Asia|Biography|Film|Music}}
{{Commons category|Asmahan}}
* {{IMDb name|0039543}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120507092858/http://asmahan.com/ Asmahan fan site]
* [http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exzuhasp.html Introduction to ''Asmahan's Secrets''], a biography ({{ISBN|978-0-292-79807-6}})

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Asmahan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asmahan}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Druze people of Syrian nationality]]
[[Category:People born at sea]]
[[Category:Egyptian film actors]]
[[Category:Deaths by drowning]]
[[Category:Syrian film actors]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in Egypt]]
[[Category:Arab actors]]
[[Category:Egyptian Druze people]]
[[Category:Syrian singers]]
[[Category:Syrian Druze people]]
[[Category:Egyptian singers]]
[[Category:Egyptian film actresses]]
[[Category:Arab people]]
[[Category:20th-century Egyptian women singers]]
[[Category:Arab musicians]]
[[Category:People from as-Suwayda]]
[[Category:Arabic-language singers]]
[[Category:Syrian emigrants to Egypt]]
[[Category:Syrian film actresses]]

[[Category:20th-century Syrian women singers]]
[[ar:أسمهان]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Egypt]]
[[es:Asmahan]]
[[Category:20th-century Egyptian actresses]]
[[fa:اسمهان]]
[[Category:20th-century Syrian actresses]]
[[fr:Asmahan]]
[[Category:Al-Atrash family]]
[[he:אסמהאן]]
[[Category:Singers who perform in Egyptian Arabic]]
[[arz:اسمهان]]
[[Category:Arabic-language singers of Egypt]]
[[fi:Asmahan]]
[[Category:Arabic-language singers of Syria]]

Latest revision as of 23:39, 23 October 2024

Asmahan
أسمهان
Asmahan
Asmahan
Background information
Birth nameAmal al-Atrash
آمال الأطرش
BornNovember 25, 1912
DiedJuly 14, 1944(1944-07-14) (aged 31)
Mansoura, Kingdom of Egypt
GenresArabic music
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
Years active1931–1944
Formerly ofFarid al-Atrash

Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش Āmāl al-Aṭrash, North Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [(ʔ)æːmæːl lˈ(ʔ)ætˤrɑʃ]; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944),[1] better known by her stage name Asmahan (أسمهان, Arabic pronunciation: [ʔasmahaːn] Asmahān), was a Syrian singer.[2]

Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad.[3][4] She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum,[5] who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century.[6] Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged espionage role in World War II.

Early life

[edit]

Asmahan was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya. Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French occupation.[7]

Asmahan's father supposedly served as governor of the district of Demirci in Turkey, during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, when he fled the country with his children and pregnant wife. On 25 November 1912, they embarked on a ship from İzmir to Beirut, and Asmahan was born on board. She was named "Amal", meaning "hope". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the name "Amal". After the French came into power, the family returned to Jabal al-Druze.[8]

Following the Adham Khanjar incident in 1922, the al-Atrash home in al-Qrayya (a town in Jabal al-Druze) was bombed by French forces. 'Alia fled with her children to Damascus and, despite orders from Fahd, refused to return.[9] Asmahan later recalled her childhood years in Jabal al-Druze as "untouched by anything truly bad".[10] 'Alia and the three children travelled to Beirut, but, after discovering that the French were searching for them there, they stopped in Haifa in Palestine, and travelled from there to Egypt, where she sought political asylum for herself and her three children; they were later granted the right of political asylum in 1926 by the Egyptian Government, thus naturalized as Egyptian citizens.[11]

Immigration to Egypt

[edit]
'Alia and her children after arrival in Egypt

'Alia chose to immigrate to Cairo, because she knew that Egypt's then nationalist prime minister Saad Zaghloul and her husband's relative, Sultan al-Atrash were on corresponding terms.[11][12][13] According to family accounts, 'Alia was permitted to enter Egypt under the sponsorship of Saad Zaghloul. Many other Syrians and Lebanese were present in Egypt in this period.

Asmahan and her family first lived in an apartment in a humble section of Cairo. Her mother did laundry and sewing to support the family.[14] She had an excellent voice, could play the `ud, sang at parties and made some recordings. Asmahan and her brothers attended a French Catholic school. In order to receive waivers for the high cost of tuition, 'Alia registered them under the alias Kusah (meaning "courgette") rather than trying to convince school officials that members of the wealthy[citation needed] al-Atrash family were destitute.[15] 'Alia received a monthly stipend from a secret benefactor rumored to be "Baron" Crane (of the King–Crane Commission) according to one Egyptian journalist. This allowed her to cover the costs of her children's school's tuition, and a nicer apartment on Habib Shalabi Street.[16]

Career

[edit]

Musical debut

[edit]

Amal's vocal talent was discovered at an early age. Once, when her brother Farid received one of Egypt's most famous composers, Dawood Hosni, in their home, the latter overheard her singing in her room, and insisted on seeing her immediately. He then asked her to sing again. He was much impressed by the performance, and suggested the stage name of Asmahan to her. Amal began using that name.

Asmahan rose to fame quickly: she was not even fourteen (or seventeen, since her birth date is disputed) years old when she was introduced to the public at a concert at the prestigious Cairo Opera House.[17][18] She sang and recorded songs composed by Farid Ghosn, Dawood Hosni, Mohamed El Qasabgi, and Zakariyya Ahmad. At fourteen, Asmahan was invited by an Egyptian record company to make her first album, featuring her first song "Ya Nar Fouadi" by Farid Ghosn.

A variety of teachers advanced her vocal and musical studies. Hosni volunteered to instruct Asmahan on how to play the oud; Qasabgi comments however on the mature level of her sight reading and musicality by the time she performed his work, some years later. However, her brothers wanted her to marry and return to Syria. Her cousin, Hassan al-Atrash travelled to Egypt, bringing with him a different cousin interested in Asmahan, however, once Hassan, who had already married five times, saw Asmahan, he pursued her and she returned to Syria for at least four years, interrupting her musical career.[citation needed]

Egypt's influence

[edit]

Since Asmahan sang in Egypt, the lyrics of her songs were written in classical Arabic and in a more colloquial Arabic, but she also sang in the Eastern dialect of Arabic. Asmahan was said to have preciously replicated songs by Umm Kulthoum.[19][20] When asked to sing about cultural patriotism and love, she sang of Egypt."[21] Since singers and studios depended on the elites, Asmahan had to sing songs on uplifting nationalist themes or in praise of the Egyptian royal family.[22] At the beginning of her career she sang in the nightclub owned by Mary Mansour, Sala Masriyya.

Asmahan's older brother, Fuad, and other Druze relatives considered a career in entertainment for a girl to be disgraceful.[17] For them, culturally, "Egypt was a planetary distance from the small villages of the Druze."[23] and it was difficult for her relatives to accept Asmahan's integration into the heterogeneous Egyptian social scene. The clearly defined divisions, along religious lines, of the Syrian countryside did not operate in Egypt. During the period when she was married to her cousin, Hassan, and then later in 1941, when she remarried him and returned to Egypt, her musical career came to a standstill. When the marriage first broke up, she left for Egypt immediately, even before she had obtained the bill of divorce.[24] With her return to Egypt and a singing career, she finally repudiated "respectability" by appearing onscreen (she had not appeared in "Layla Majun" but her voice is featured) leaving both her relatives and Syrian Druze society furious. When her first film, Intisar al-Shabab, was released in Syria, one young Druze shot at the screen when the character played by Asmahan appeared.[24] Asmahan, bi-national or, in contemporary parlance, trans-national by then, had become "a sophisticated foreigner to the young men in the Jabal Druze."[25]

Personal life

[edit]
Asmahan with her mother 'Alia al-Mundhir

In 1933, Asmahan's cousin, Hassan al-Atrash, came to Cairo and proposed marriage, requesting that Asmahan abandon her musical career.[26] She agreed on three conditions: that they live in Damascus rather than Jabal al-Druze, winter in Cairo, and that she would never be required to wear the traditional hijab.[27][28] They married and moved first to 'Ara where the al-Atrash retain a large home, and then built their own home in Suwayda. Asmahan gave birth to her daughter, Kamellia. Eventually, Asmahan missed her career and her life in Cairo;[29] and in 1939, she and Hassan were divorced. In her final confrontation with her cousin at Mena House Hotel in Giza, she told him, "I stood with you for independence and liberation, I did. But, I was created for another purpose. I prefer the work of Farid, and the work of Umm Kulthum, and of art."[30] She returned to Cairo and resumed her singing career, entering a short marriage to Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan.[31]

In 1941, she returned to Syria in a dramatic and secret journey under the auspices of the British. Hassan agreed to meet with her, and used the occasion to successfully entreat her to remarry him. During the time they were married, she twice attempted suicide. Tabloid newspapers suggested that this was so that she could obtain a second divorce from Hassan; however, it seemed he actually agreed due to her visits to King David Hotel, Jerusalem where wild rumours attached to her behaviour and overspending. Her third and final marriage was to the Egyptian director Ahmed Salem, supposedly to facilitate her return to Egypt over impositions by government authorities. It is unclear how that would occur, however, and she had an ongoing studio contract in Egypt. Asmahan was close friends with the al Othman family and met with them when she travelled to Haifa, Palestine, when they helped her.

Also in 1941, Asmahan met Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egypt's most distinguished singer and composer, and starred with him in his operetta Magnun Layla ("Besotted with Layla").[32] Abdel Wahab introduced her to the journalist, Mohamed al-Taba'i, who suggests that she was in love with him, but the tone of his writing indicates that he was in love with her, but did not respect her. He suggests she had affairs or at least an ongoing relationship with the royal chamberlain Ahmed Pasha Hassanein but this might be exaggerted. Her brothers, Fuad and Farid, were no longer able to monitor her movements.[8] Her brother was a noted gambler; she and her friends also partied, smoked, drank and gambled. She became very ill for a period, but recordings show that her voice did not suffer.

Asmahan was proud of her family background,[22] and always mentioned her father and his cousin, Sultan al-Atrash, to clarify her ancestry — once saying to al-Taba'i, after he had just insulted her, "Don't you know who I am? Why I am the daughter of Fahd al-Atrash and cousin to the Amir al-Atrash and the Druze revolutionary hero Sultan al-Atrash.[33][34] Asmahan was not a first cousin of Hassan's, but referred to him as "ibn 'ammi" to the Egyptians, in fact, she was his second cousin, twice removed (by generation).[33]

Vocal characteristics

[edit]
Asmahan

Asmahan's noted wide vocal range included contralto and dramatic mezzo-soprano (as one can hear in her rendition of "Ya Tuyur" where she reaches a high A with ease and brio). Asmahan's voice has been compared to Fairuz and Sabah.[35] However, as she began her career more than two decades earlier, she had not in fact, adopted the Italian singing technique known as bel canto, but rather learned singing from many admirable models of her own period and in Egypt where a much more diverse group of singers performed, and at a time when Arabic singing utilized both nasal and chest resonance.

Asmahan's voice was powerful, but also agile. She generally sang in her chest register but could use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone. It is not incorrect to say that she was the first or one of the first Arabic singers to use the classical western technique, also very few performers are able to alternate two different styles of interpretation and technique in one song (western and arab).[36]

Role in World War II

[edit]

In 1941, during World War II, Asmahan returned to the French Mandate of Syria (Syria, then under the rule of Vichy France) at the request of the British and the Free French. She was on a secret mission to notify her people in Jabal al-Druze that the British and Free French forces would be invading Syria through their territory, and to convince them they should not fight. The British and Free French had promised the independence of Syria and Lebanon to all inhabitants on the date of the invasion. The Druze agreed, even though some groups did not receive word in time and fought the invading forces. After the Allies secured Syria during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, General Charles de Gaulle visited Syria. When the Allies failed to carry out their promise for Syrian independence, Asmahan tried to contact the Nazis in Turkey, but was stopped at the border and sent to Lebanon. It was also possible that Asmahan needed money because her husband had cut off her expenses, so she may have tried to reach the Germans simply to obtain funds.[27]

Asmahan told Mohamed al-Taba'i that she was to receive the sum of £40,000 from the British for her services to the allies.[37][38][39] General Charles de Gaulle's representative in Cairo was General Georges Catroux. Catroux's délégué in Damascus, Colonel Collet, stated that the British gave money to Asmahan (and to other Druze men, in his presence) and sent her to the Jabal to secure the support of the Druze before the Allies' invasion.[40] The same information is stated by Edward Spears in his memoirs.[36]

Death

[edit]

On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend crashed and went into a canal at the side of the road, after the driver lost control near the city of Mansoura, Egypt.[27] The car was a two-door model and the women were sitting in the backseat. They were presumed to be rendered unconscious and subsequently drowned. The driver, however, managed to escape.[41]

These circumstances gave rise to many suspicions, rumours and conspiracy theories. British intelligence, for example, after many reports circulated claiming she had been working for them, was accused of having got rid of her after she had attempted to meet with German agents. The German Gestapo was also accused of murdering her for the help she had given the British. Her husband at the time had fought violently with her, and her family's honour had been besmirched by the many rumours.

Asmahan was buried in Egypt in accordance with her wishes[42] as, years later, were her two brothers, Fouad and Farid al-Atrash,[43] in the Fustat plain in Cairo, which she and brother Farid, along with Abdel Halim Hafez,[44] had restored to some of its former glory.[45]

Legacy

[edit]

The Egyptian Media Production City and a private investor jointly produced a television series depicting the life (and death) of Asmahan.[46] The Arabic series debuted during the month of Ramadan in 2008. Asmahan was played by Syrian actress Sulaf Fawakherji.[47] On 25 November 2015, Google celebrated Asmahan's 103rd birthday using a Google doodle.[48]

Filmography

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "منزل الفنانة أسمهان بات متحفاً" Archived 2013-01-11 at archive.today, Al-Mada
  2. ^ Samy Swayd (10 March 2015). Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4422-4617-1.
  3. ^ "Lebanese Army Journal, Issue Number 241, July 2005". Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ^ al-Atrash, Majid (2005), Asmahan: Amirat at-tarab was-saif wan-nada (Asmahan: The princess of music, war and grace) al-'Adyat magazine, p.75–77, in Arabic
  5. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 85
  6. ^ Prominent Egyptians - Egyptian Government State Information Service
  7. ^ Provence, Michael (2005), The great Syrian revolt and the rise of Arab nationalism (illustrated ed.), University of Texas Press, p. 72, ISBN 978-0-292-70680-4
  8. ^ a b Zuhur 1998, p. 81
  9. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 38
  10. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 36
  11. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, pp. 38–39
  12. ^ Interview with Fuad al-Atrash. Time 4:34. on YouTube
  13. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 39
  14. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 41
  15. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 41, 53
  16. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 42, 44
  17. ^ a b Zuhur 1998, p. 82
  18. ^ "University of Texas Press". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  19. ^ Al-Taba'i 2008, p. 82
  20. ^ Al-Taba'i 2008, p. 26
  21. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 216
  22. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 13
  23. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 54
  24. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 98
  25. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 95
  26. ^ Al-Taba'i 2008, p. 51
  27. ^ a b c Zuhur 2000
  28. ^ Moubayed, Sami M. (1 January 2006). Steel and Silk. Cune Press, LLC. ISBN 9781885942418. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 69–70
  30. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 99
  31. ^ "The lost honor of Farid al-Atrash, Egyptian legend". Haaretz. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  32. ^ Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Weekly. Issue #933. 2009-02-05. Archived July 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 37
  34. ^ Al-Taba'i 2008, pp. 108–109
  35. ^ Shoup, John A. (2011-10-31). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598843620.
  36. ^ a b Zuhur
  37. ^ Al-Taba'i 2008, pp. 142–146
  38. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 115
  39. ^ Zuhur, Sherifa (2000a). "Asmahan's Secrets: Art, Gender and Cultural Disputations". Al-Raida. 88: 41–44. doi:10.32380/alrj.v0i0.606.
  40. ^ Bey, Salma Mardam (1 September 1997). Syria's Quest for Independence, 1939-1945. Ithaca. ISBN 978-0863721755. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.
  41. ^ Hanan al-Shaykh (2013). Beirut Blues. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 277. ISBN 9780307831132.
  42. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 165
  43. ^ Classical Arabic Music Website Archived 2010-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Newspaper Article. Issue No. 943, 16 - 22 April 2009. Archived August 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ Kadi, Galila El; Bonnamy, Alain (1 January 2007). Architecture for the Dead : Cairo's Medieval Necropolis. American Univ in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774160745. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.
  46. ^ "صحيفة الثورة". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  47. ^ "Homepage". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  48. ^ "Asmahan's 103rd Birthday". Google. Retrieved 25 November 2015.

Sources

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