Youmna Bou Hadir sings Shirley Bassey. (Credit: Bou Hadir's Instagram account.)
She exploded onto the stage at the Casino du Liban, then at the Beiteddine Festival and at O last summer, dazzling audiences with her deep, powerful voice as Mama Dunia, Matron Mama Morton, in the musical Chicago Bil Arabia. Despite her legendary discretion, she was one of Roy el-Khoury's show's great surprises, playing a dozen sold-out performances.
Youmna Bou Hadir returned to the stage, but this time in an intimate concert where she lent her voice to Dame Shirley Bassey. This was a strange choice for the young woman from another generation, who wasn't nurtured on Bassey's songs from the 70s and 80s.
"I was seven when I first heard Shirley Bassey's voice. I'd found a cassette in a yellow box with a folded piece of paper inside. It read, 'Shirley Bassey's greatest hits,' scribbled in my mother's handwriting. I took the cassette and cassette player into the bathroom and locked the door," she said. "When Bassey's voice echoed in the bathroom of the house where I spent my childhood, I looked at myself in the mirror, under a white fluorescent light, and, for the first time in my life, I imagined myself on stage."
It took many years: The singer got her BA in English Literature from LAU, which won her the prize for best graduation project, then was a classically trained author, screenwriter, performer, vocal coach and singer, until she found the time and courage to get on stage. Her main training was in singing, screenwriting, creative writing and performance.
She worked on her voice and artistry by performing jazz and classical music, writing poetry, short stories, screenplays and acting. She has been published many times, has contributed to the writing of several TV series, and has also explored this exercise in performances on many Beirut stages. "Today, 25 years later, and exactly one week before my 32nd birthday, I offer this concert to the child in me: A tribute to the voice that crossed the walls of my bathroom and those of my life. This concert is not about Shirley Bassey. It's about me, at age seven, and the possibility of finally turning my dreams into reality," Bou Hadir said.
She will be accompanied by some of Lebanon's finest musicians: Abdo and Charbel Sawma on drums and bass, Ralph Aouad on guitar, Rami Abou Khalil on keyboards and Nidal Abou Samra on saxophone. Three dancers will also be part of the concert, and "I've got a little surprise in store for you!" she said with a big smile. "Let me sing and I'm happy," she added. Her obvious joy and her voice are proof.
*Youmna Bou Hadir, A tribute to Shirley Bassey, Sept. 11 at 9 p.m. at Metro al Madina, Aresco, Hamra.
Tickets on sale at Metro al Madina and all branches of Antoine Bookshop.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour.
