The “singer of the conversation,” whose voice had won over Egyptians’ hearts months before, was turned down for the opportunity to perform at the Egyptian Opera House gala for the Syrian musician Asala.
Ahmed Salem, famously known as “the singer Al -Naqash”, revealed the scenes of his meeting with one of the officials at the Egyptian Opera House, after being excluded from the ceremony, at the end of the 31st session of the Arab Music Festival.
In a telephone interview with one of the television programmes, he claimed that despite having coordinated the date of rehearsals and his early arrival for training inside the opera with the artist Asala’s office, he was taken aback before the ceremony when he was informed of a problem that would prevent his attendance.
He also added that one of the opera officials explained to him that he was not authorized to ascend on the stage, because he was not previously announced, while the festival will witness the presence of the Minister of Culture and other important personalities.
Salem emphasised that when she invited the artist Asala to take part in the ceremony, she did not make him aware of these protocols.
In response, musician Helmy Bakr, president of the Arab Music Festival’s organising committee, said that while he had never stopped Ahmed Salem from attending, opera traditions forbade the addition of any performer without first hearing it and granting him permission to participate.
Notable is that the art critic Tariq Al-Shennawi also voiced his opinion on Ahmed Salem’s removal from the Asala party in a post on his Facebook page, accusing Bakr of hindering the investigation.
The entire story, according to Al-Shennawi, is that composer Hilmi Bakr, a member of the festival’s Supreme Committee, believed that Salem was beneath the dignity of the opera theatre.
Salem received an apology for his absence, which he justified by not having the necessary papers.
In a video posted on his official Facebook page, he released: I apologize for not attending the Arab Music Festival, but I did not have the most complete papers required of me because the time was narrow.
This happened after Ahmed Salem had previously confirmed his participation in Asala at the end of the Arab Music Festival, along with a video of the ceremony’s rehearsal with the performer and the musical ensemble.
He received training to perform several of her songs, including “Qad Al-Hanf” and “The one who is,” in the video.
It is noteworthy that Ahmed Salem achieved significant social media recognition with the release of a video showing him performing the song “Bakra Ya Habibi” by singer Warda while employed as a discussion panellist.
The singer’s talent attracted attention, and Rami Gamal, another singer, who expressed his support for him and sought him out to collaborate with him on a new song.
The “Al -Naqsh al -Nuqash” tag also issued the trend in Egypt last August, after the spread of the video, in which he was singing with great views, until the cooperation shows rolled with him..
“The musician Al -Naqash” confesses the secret after being sent away from the Asala party.
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