|
Add to favourite
Our Sponsor
Omayad Hotel
Damascus
Le Meridien Hotel Damascus
Rawda Hotel
Damascus
Al Majed
Hotels
Tartous Grand Hotel
Riviera
Hotel Lebanon
Danit Travel &
Tourism
Atlantic
Travel
Luxor Travel
Syrian
Holidays Travel
Emara Travel
Serail Travel
and Tourism
Ashkar Travel
Karim Travel
Al Tilal
Restaurants
Jabri House
Restaurant
Barcly Fine Men's
socks
Lamassat for fabrics
Al Shaar for
Fabrics
Sbei Bros Co. for
fabrics
Joudi for fabrics
Horizon Men's
shirts
Hamad
Corp for textile
Bechara Lingerie shop
Marmou Furniture
Al Farouk Sweets
Browny Snack
ART Hand made
products
Wella Syria Co.
Al Inayeh
Hygienic products
Chawi Group-
Grohe Agent
Sinan Law Office
Al Kherdaji Law
Office
Nahlawi
Law Office
Malakieh Est.
Kuriha Co. Safety
Products
Technostone
Fair
Al Khateeb
Mall
UNCOD Agriculture
Al Tayar Group
for exhibitions
Dr. Ibrahim
NAJMEH
Hello Syria
calling cards
Syrian
Video Center
Ahmad Photo Studio
|
Starting form March 2003, visit-syria.com is publishing monthly
biographies of famous Syrian cultural personalities.
Asmahan
(1912-1944)
Amal al-Atrash was born and raised to a notable
family in the Druze Mountain. Her father died in 1924 and she was
left in the care of her mother, Princess Alia. In July 1925, a
military uprising took place against the French Mandate in Syria,
launched from the mountain by her uncle Sultan al-Atrash. Many
members of the Atrash family fled from Syria to avoid persecution by
French authorities. Her mother went to Egypt where in order to earn
a living, she began to sing with her daughter Amal. In 1936, Amal
started working at local nightclubs with her brother Farid al-Atrash,
a saloon crooner who was rising to stardom in Egypt. The lady Atrash
changed her name to Asmahan, a catchy yet classy art name, and like
Farid, became an instant success. She was young, beautiful, had a
strong voice, and a very confident performance. She attracted the
attention of the royal family in Cairo, most notably King Farouk,
who endorsed her career. By the mid-1930s, Asmahan was performing
before international dignitaries and was a popular name in Egypt. In
1937, she recorded her first song Aleik Salat Allah (For you
is the prayer of God), which her brother composed for the film
Al-Mahfal al-Sharif (The Holy Lodge). In 1941, she quit her
career to marry the Druze chief Prince Hasan al-Atrash, who had been
her husband in the 1930s, but they divorced, and she returned to
Cairo to devote her life to singing.
In
the 1940s, Asmahan performed her masterpiece Ya Habibi Ta'ala
Lhakni (My Love Come Follow Me) and earned a wide audience in
the Arab world. The Egyptian diva Um Kalthum tried to obstruct her
career because she felt threatened by her dramatic rise to fame.
Asmahan collaborated with renowned Egyptian composers like Mohammad
al-Qassabji and Mohammad Abd al-Wahab, who composed the tune to her
operetta Majnoun Layla (Layla Fanatic) in the film Yawm
Sa’id (Happy Day). Abd al-Wahab also composed the classic song
Layali al-Uns fi Vienna (Nights of Companionship in Vienna).
In 1942, she started to co-star with her brother Farid in Egyptian
feature films like Intisar al-Shabab (Victory of Youth) and
Gharam Wa Intikam (Love and Revenge). Asmahan died in a car
accident when her car crashed into a water-filled ditch and drowned
on July 14, 1944. During the years 1935-1940, the young star made
more enemies than friends in Egypt. Um Kalthum and other Egyptian
singers lobbied to bring her down, claiming that she was not an
Egyptian performer, and belonged in Syria. Asmahan developed a
serious drinking problem towards the end of her life and was often
short of money. According to one of her biographers Sa’id al-Jaza’iri,
who wrote the book Asmahan in 1990, she lost her desire to
perform on stage, believing that she was too noble to work as a
saloon artist. Jaza'iri adds that reportedly, towards the end of her
life, Asmahan worked with the British Intelligence during World War
II. Using her connections in the Druze Mountain, she even
facilitated the entry of Allied forces into Syria, through the
mountain, to expel the pro-German regime of General Henri Dentz.
Some biographers of Asmahan argue that she was not a regular
employee but got paid for one mission, which was to warn her family
in the Druze Mountain from the Anglo-British invasion of Syria. She
was also involved in a relationship with Hasanein Pasha, a prominent
royal in King Farouk’s Egypt. In future years, when World War II
ended, the Arab media accused her of channeling information on the
daily lives of Arab officials to British Intelligence. Despite the
numerous rumors regarding her death, Asmahan is still regarded as
one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.
She is an established symbol of glamour and intrigue in the Arab
World and a legend in modern Arabic music
Back to topic page
|