Biography (read more)
Fatma Said (born Fatma Ahmed Hassan Said, 1991, in Cairo, Egypt) is an Egyptian operatic soprano based in London and Berlin. After early years focused on tennis, she began voice lessons at 14 with Egyptian-French soprano Névine Allouba. In 2009 she entered the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, earning her Bachelor’s (2013) and Master’s (2018) degrees, then received a scholarship to La Scala’s opera academy, becoming the first Egyptian soprano ever to sing at that house. She debuted as Pamina in The Magic Flute at La Scala in 2016 and has since appeared at Teatro San Carlo, Staatsoper Hamburg, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and Carnegie Hall.
Recognized for bridging Western classical and Arabic musical traditions, her 2020 debut album El Nour won BBC Music Magazine’s Newcomer of the Year and a Gramophone Award for Best Song Album; she was a 2016 BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and has represented Egypt at the United Nations on human rights and music-education initiatives.
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