The crisis surrounding the 34th Arab Music Festival continues, with Lebanese singer Assi El Hallani announcing his withdrawal from the event, hours after singers Mohamed Tharwat, Ali El Haggar, and others withdrew.
The media office of singer Assi El Hallani announced in a statement on Thursday evening that the artist has apologized for not participating in the 34th session of the Arab Music Festival, which is scheduled to be held during the month of October, in light of the recent administrative developments witnessed by the Egyptian Opera House.
The statement explained the reason for Al-Hallani’s withdrawal, saying: “Out of his keenness to avoid getting involved in any disputes or circumstances related to the recent administrative developments, Assi Al-Hallani apologizes for not participating in this session, with full appreciation and respect for the Egyptian Opera House and its esteemed audience.”
Despite donating his entire salary
This apology came despite the Lebanese singer's earlier announcement that he would donate his entire fee, a move reflecting his keenness to participate in the well-known music festival and his appreciation for the Egyptian audience, which confirms that the reason for his apology for not participating is not related to any financial disputes.
The festival witnessed a crisis of withdrawals by senior artists hours after a press conference by the head of the Egyptian Opera House, Reda El-Wakil, about the details of the festival, as some of them expressed their criticism of El-Wakil’s statements, considering them an insult to Egyptian art.
Singers Mohamed Tharwat and Ali El Haggar withdrew, and a series of withdrawals and apologies for not participating in the Arab Music Festival followed, including Mai Farouk, Mohamed Mohsen, Ahmed Saad and others.
For his part, singer Mohamed Tharwat revealed in a statement this morning, Friday, the reasons for his apology for not participating in the festival, saying: “Anyone who knows my history knows that my relationship with art and opera has never been materialistic,” stressing that he had already given up more than 75% of his due fee for the concert.
“An artist should not be reduced to numbers.”
Tharwat clearly criticized the way the wages were presented at the festival's press conference, stressing that the artist, whether he receives a wage or donates it, deserves full appreciation, and it is not permissible to reduce him to numbers or to portray the prestigious institution as financially incapable.
He added that disclosing such details affects the value and stature of every participating Egyptian and Arab artist, before it affects those who apologized.
Regarding the direct and fundamental reason for his decision, Tharwat stressed that his objection stems from the core of professional ethics and respect for artistic figures, refusing to turn the noble message of art into a debate or dispute about budgets.
The great singer Ali El Haggar said in a post on his Facebook account on Thursday morning: “I have apologized for not participating in the Arab Music Festival this year, and this is the first time that I will not participate since the festival was established.”
"A weak and humiliating budget"
He added: “The real reason is that the Opera House adopted a weak and insulting financial budget for the members of the accompanying musical band, which I did not accept, and this is the fact that the head of the Opera House ignored talking about in the press conference.”
Al-Hajjar added: “The strange thing is that the head of the Opera House mentioned that during his time I held concerts at the Citadel Festival, in Alexandria, and on the Grand Theater at the Opera, which is what I had been accustomed to for more than thirty years before his arrival, and not as a favor from him.”
The crisis escalated with the resignation of the head of the Opera House, Reda El Wakil, after senior artists withdrew from participating in the festival.
Reda El Wakil announced his resignation from his position as head of the Egyptian Opera House in a post on Facebook, in which he said: “Before I leave you in peace to continue with the previous customs and methods that I hope will not return, which I began during a short period to modify for our interests, and I have already begun to successfully change some behaviors and actions that I did not and will not accept throughout my presidency of this great institution, the Egyptian Opera House, our second home… I apologize to you.”
Sedq Al Roya - royanews.com
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