Fadia Tomb El-Hage & Family
The Lebanese contralto, Fadia el-Hage, started her musical career at the age of 14 as a singer with the Rahbani brothers and with Fairouz. She also worked as an actor in Lebanese television and movies. In 1984 she graduated from the University of Lebanon with a degree in psychology. She and her husband then emigrated to Germany, where she studied voice (specialization: oratorio) at the Richard-Strauss-Konservatorium in Munich, obtaining her diploma in 1990. Fadia el-Hage is one of the very few singers mastering and combining the traditions of Western and Mid-Eastern classical music. Her repertoire extends from classical Arab music, European music from the Middle Ages to Contemporary music. Since 1990 she has performed as a soloist in Sarbande Ensemble, Vox and L'Orient Imaginaire, specializing in Medieval and Mediterranean song.In 1994 Fadia el-Hage returned to Lebanon, where, since her breakthrough concert at the 1998 Festival of Baalbeck, she is considered one of the Arab world's major singers.