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Dima Orsho

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Syrian-American soprano singer and composer
Dima Orshoديما اورشو
Born1975
Damascus, Syria
OriginSyria
GenresWorld music, Arabic music, contemporary classical music
Occupation(s)singer, composer
Years active2005–present
LabelsDreyer Gaido, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
Member ofHewar Ensemble
Websitewww.dimaorsho.com
Musical artist

Dima Orsho (Arabic: ديما اورشو; b. 1975, Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian-American mezzosoprano singer and composer. She studied first at the Damascus Higher Institute for Music and later at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Since 2003, she has been a member of the Syrian Hewar ensemble, alongside Kinan Azmeh, Issam Rafea and others. In July 2022, Orsho sang and played the role of the prisoner Fatma in the premiere of Bushra El-Turk's multi-media opera Woman at Point Zero at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in France.

As guest artist, she has been associated with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Tina Turner, the Morgenland Festival All Star Band or the Baroque music ensemble Musica Alta Ripa. Orsho performs in various musical styles, ranging from Arabic poetic songs or lullabies to world music and jazz-inspired scat singing. Performing with different musical groups, she has given concerts in the Middle East, Europe and the US, among others at the Elbphilharmonie and the Barenboim-Said Academy in Germany, the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Centre and the Library of Congress in the US, the Opéra Bastille and Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, the Bimhuis Amsterdam and the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels.

Life and career

In 1993 Orsho began her studies as a soprano singer and clarinet player at the Damascus Higher Institute for Music under the direction of composer Solhi al-Wadi. After her graduation, she performed with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra at the Damascus Opera House, before moving to the United States to study classical singing at the Boston Conservatory, where she earned her master's degree in opera performance.

In Damascus, she joined Kinan Azmeh on the clarinet and Issam Rafea on the oud as well as other musicians of the world music ensemble Hewar in 2003. They have recorded three albums, including Letters to a Homeland. Further, she recorded Arabic poetry set to music by the Syrian pianist Gaswan Zerikly on their album Arabic Lieder. In 2017 Orsho was a guest artist on the album Sing Me Home by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, which was named best world music album at the 59th Grammy Awards.

In 2019, she released her solo album Hidwa - Lullabies for Troubled Timeswith traditional lullabies from Syria and Azerbaijan, as well as compositions by Manuel de Falla, Gabriel Asa'ad and herself. The same year, she went on tour with the Spanish soprano Nuria Rial and the German Ensemble Musica Alta Ripa, with the release of the album Mother: Baroque Arias and Arabic Songs.

At the annual Morgenland Festival in Osnabrück, Germany, she has appeared frequently, both as singer as well as teacher for workshops. With the Morgenland All Star Band and the Morgenland Festival Orchestra, she performed both in Germany, the Netherlands and in Lebanon. In 2015, Orsho first sang in a chamber music production of Kinan Azmeh's song cycle Songs for Days to Come in Brooklyn, New York City. At the Morgenland Festival in June 2022, Orsho appeared in the operatic version of this cycle of songs and poems based on the Syrian civil war. In a review of this premiere, her dramatic lament after an explosion at the main character’s wedding party was called "especially captivating".

At the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July 2022, Orsho sang and played the role of the prisoner Fatma in Bushra El-Turk's multi-media opera Woman at Point Zero, based on the novel of the same name by Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi. Commenting on her different singing styles, ranging from lyrical mezzosoprano to improvised jazz techniques, her interpretation expressed the different aspects of the character and the contemporary classical character of this world premiere. During 2023, this work was also performed in Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain and at the Royal Opera London's Engender Festival.

Orsho has also composed soundtracks for short films and feature films: Under The Ceiling (2005) was directed by Nidal Al-Debs, and the documentary movie "A Comedian in a Syrian Tragedy" (2019) about the life in exile of Syrian actor Fares Helou was directed by Rami Farah.

Discography

with Hewar:

  • Hewar 2003
  • 9 Days of Solitude 2007
  • Letters to a homeland 2012

with Morgenland All Star Band:

  • Dastan
  • Morgenland All Star Band Live in Beirut

Notable stage performances

  • Songs for Days to Come, song cycle by Kinan Azmeh (New York City 2015 and Berlin 2021; operatic version Osnabrück, 2022)
  • Woman at Point Zero, opera by Bushra El-Turk, premiere at Aix-en-Provence, 2022, and further performances in 2023

References

  1. Brockschmidt, Rolf (2017-03-27). "Arabischer Klangzauber". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  2. "Artists". Songs For Days To Come. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  3. Biography Suraj Records "Born in Damascus 1975, Dima appeared as a soloist in the Middle East, Europe & USA on recognized stages such as the Millennium stage at the Kennedy Centre, the Opera Bastille de Paris, the Media Park of Colon Germany and the Library of congress. She also had solo appearances with The Syrian National Symphony Orchestra since 1995, the Opening of the first Opera House in Damascus in 2004, Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2006 and The Rape of Lucretia in 2007 both on the Boston Conservatory Theater."
  4. Romero, Angel (2017-02-13). "Best World Music Album Grammy Award Goes to Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble | World Music Central". Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  5. "Dima Orsho: 'Hidwa - Lullabies for Troubled Times' • Contemporary • Kings Place". Kings Place. Jan 2022. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  6. "Barockarien und arabische Lieder - Nuria Rial und Dima Orsho". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  7. "Prologue: Dima Orsho & Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra". morgenland-festival.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  8. "St Urban Presents World Premiere at SubCulture Tonight". BroadwayWorld.com. 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  9. Morgenland Festival (June 2022). "Songs for Days to Come". morgenland-festival.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  10. "Überragendes Musiktheater: "Songs for Days to come" in Osnabrück". kulturfeder.de (in German). 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  11. Tossah, Sylvie (2022-01-13). "WOMAN AT POINT ZERO". Festival International d'Art Lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  12. "Woman at Point Zero au Festival d'Aix-en-Provence : l'opéra d'un autre genre -..." Olyrix.com (in French). Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  13. Ashley, Tim (2023-06-29). "Woman at Point Zero review – fierce and lyrical fusion score underpins classic feminist story". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  14. Rochelle Davis Palestinian Village Histories: Geographies of the Displaced 2010 Pages 209-210 ""I Will Tell the World" has been put to music, hauntingly and passionately, ... Dima Orsho, a Syrian singer and composer, produced a song of the poem that showcases her operatic soprano ."
  15. Farah, Rami (2019-11-23), A Comedian in a Syrian Tragedy (Documentary), Fares Al-Helou, Final Cut for Real, retrieved 2021-03-14

External links

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