Asmahan أسمهان | |
|---|---|
 Asmahan | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Amal al-Atrash آمال الأطرش |
| Born | November 25, 1912 |
| Died | July 14, 1944 (aged 31) Mansoura, Kingdom of Egypt |
| Genres | Arabic music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
| Years active | 1931–1944 |
| Formerly of | Farid al-Atrash |
Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش Āmāl al-Aṭrash, North Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [(ʔ)æːmæːl lˈ(ʔ)ætˤrɑʃ]; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944),[1] better known by her stage name Asmahan (أسمهان, Arabic pronunciation: [ʔasmahaːn] Asmahān), was an Egyptian-Syrian singer.[2]
Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad.[3][4] She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum,[5] who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century.[6] Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged espionage role in World War II.
- ^ "منزل الفنانة أسمهان بات متحفاً" Archived 2013-01-11 at archive.today, Al-Mada
- ^ Samy Swayd (10 March 2015). Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4422-4617-1.
- ^ "Lebanese Army Journal, Issue Number 241, July 2005". Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ al-Atrash, Majid (2005), Asmahan: Amirat at-tarab was-saif wan-nada (Asmahan: The princess of music, war and grace) al-'Adyat magazine, p.75–77, in Arabic
- ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 85
- ^ Prominent Egyptians - Egyptian Government State Information Service