The TAM-TAM: Warda's first stage

Mohammed Ftouki opened the Tam-Tam (cabaret) in 1951 acrostic of "Tunisia - Algeria - Morocco", at a time when several other establishments of the kind appeared such as El Djazaïr, El Koutoubia, Baghdad... An establishment which had quickly become very successful. Farid al-Atrash had sung there. Salim Al Hillali, the other souk-ahrassien, had sung there every night for years. Receptacles and laboratories of modern Arab singers, these cabarets are also meeting places for the diasporas where ideas circulate, genuine places of expression of thought. Thus, during the War of Liberation, the Tam-Tam became a secret address of the French Federation of the FLN, as a cache of weapons.^[6] Indeed, "Le Tam-Tam" was linked to the headquarters of the MTLD, the Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Freedoms, the political party for Algerian independence. The cabaret adjoined the MTLD headquarters and was under police surveillance.^[6] Mohammed Ftouki was subsequently denounced and imprisoned.^[7]

Following his release, he went into exile in Beirut with his family and devoted himself to the artistic training of his children, in particular Warda and Messaoud, a percussionist and composer. Both Warda and her brother's talents thrived thanks to the devoted efforts of their father. Mohammed Ftouki died in Cairo in 1961 where he is buried.^[5]

Career beginnings

At the age of 11, Warda sang in a show hosted by Ahmed Hachlaf, which was broadcast on Paris Inter.^[8][9] In 1950, she recorded her first record for Pathé-Marconi.

In 1956, after the outbreak of the Algerian war, weapons intended for the FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front) were discovered by the police in her father's cabaret. The establishment was closed, and their family expelled. They made plans to move to Hamra, a district of Beirut known for its nightlife.^[5] However, her mother died before they could arrive.

Warda sang in Beirut's cabarets.^[10] In 1959, at a casino in Aley, she met the composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab, who taught her the art of classical singing and adapted the poet Ahmed Shawqi's qasida "Bi-Omri Kullo Habbitak" for her.^[10] This led to her introduction to the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, who suggested that she be cast in a pan-Arab opera and perform the song "Al Watan Al Akbar" by Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Warda recorded it, as did other singers such as Abdel Halim Hafez and Fayza Ahmed.^[8][11] The Egyptian director of musicals, Helmy Rafla, signed her to a contract, enabling her to pursue a musical and film career in Egypt.^[5][12] She appeared in two of Rafla's films, "Almaz We Abdo El-Hamouly" and "Amirat al-Arab."^[5][10]

Career interruption

Warda's father died in 1961.^[5] After independence, she went to Algeria for the first time and married an officer who forbade her to sing. She took a ten-year hiatus from music, instead choosing to raise her children. She had a daughter named Widad and a son named Riad, who was named after the composer Riad Al Sunbati.^[13][14]

Return to singing

In 1972, at the request of Algerian president Houari Boumédiène, Warda took part in the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Algeria's independence by performing in Algiers with an Egyptian orchestra.^[10][15]

Following that performance, Warda and her husband divorced by mutual consent, and she decided to resume her career.^[14] She returned permanently to Egypt, where she married the composer Baligh Hamdi. She enjoyed great popularity and had the opportunity to work with the greatest Arab composers, such as Helmi Bakr, Riad Al Sunbati, Sadok Thraya, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Mohammed Al-Mougi, and Sayed Mekawy.^[3][12][16] Egyptian president Anwar Sadat banned her from performing in Egypt because a song from her repertoire, "Inkan el-Ghala Yenzad", praised the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The ban was lifted thanks to the intervention of his wife Jehan.^[12]

In 1979, Warda returned to France to give a recital at the Olympia.^[3]

Since the 1990s

In 1990, Warda divorced her second husband, who died in Paris three years later.^[5] Her career went into eclipse as new musical styles emerged. However, she was able to return to the forefront due to her popular performances of songs by the composer Salah El-Sharnoubi, such as "Harramt Ahebak", "Batwanes Beek", and "Ya Khsara".^[5]

She began to develop health problems, which kept her away from the stage. In 1996, she underwent heart surgery, which was followed by a liver transplant in the early 2000s.^[5][10][17]

In 1999, a "best of" compilation called "Nagham El-Hawa" was released, which featured her most popular songs.^[5] Her last studio album was recorded in 2001.^[9]

Warda visited Lebanon in the 2000s to perform at the Baalbeck International Festival. She sang there in 2005 and again in 2008, attracting nearly 3,000 spectators.^[10][9] That same year, she travelled to Algeria and gave various concerts in Djemila, at the Casif Theatre in Sidi Fredj,^[3][18] and at the 4th International Festival. In 2009, Warda took part in the opening night of the 2nd Pan-African Festival in Algiers.^[19] She also performed in Morocco during the 8th edition of the Mawazine, where she sang in front of 30,000 people. One of her last concerts took place in Lebanon in September 2011.^[10]

Musical style and posterity

The musicologist Daniel Caux considered Warda to have possessed all the qualities necessary for a singer from the Arab world. He emphasized the accuracy of her intonation, her sense of rhythm and her mastery of nuances, in particular, which he thought enriched her singing. According to Caux, Warda succeeds in combining power and delicacy.^[13]

Warda was one of the few singers renowned throughout the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Mashriq.^[15] She is considered a "diva" of Arab song, in the same way as Umm Kulthum, Sabah, and Fairuz.^[12][24] Her repertoire includes more than 300 songs. During her career, Warda has sold tens of millions of albums.^[12]

Tributes

On 10 March 2018, the Ensemble Mazzika in Paris paid tribute to Warda in a concert at the Cabaret Sauvage.^[25]

On 30 November 2019, a concert in tribute to Warda was organised by the Ensemble Mazzika and the Lebanese singer Ranine Chaar at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris.^[26]

On 2021, The Arab World Institute in Paris pays tribute to "The Arab World Divas", among them, Warda. The exhibition displays the greatest female Arab artists in the 20th century, legendary artists, timeless icons, all the actresses and singers who took part in the evolution of the post-war Arabic societies and who remain references idolized by everyone.^[27]

Warda was a gourmet cook, and did not let being a Muslim stand in the way of using wine in cooking. She told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Akhbar, at her home overlooking the Nile, she loved: "Cooking, looking after my beloved cats and listening to old songs."^[8]