ISLAMABAD: British-Pakistani singer Saira Peter, known as the world’s first Sufi opera singer, has embarked on her maiden tour to Saudi Arabia, expressing her passion for exploring the Kingdom’s rich musical heritage.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News (Riyadh), Saira Peter shared her appreciation for the warmth of the Saudi people and their enthusiastic response to her performances. She praised their natural sense of rhythm, as she performed a wide variety of songs, including the Saudi National Anthem, each time drawing cheers from the audience.
During her visit, Saira Peter and her team were given a special tour of the Tarik Abdulhakim Center in Jeddah, dedicated to the composer Brigadier General Tarek Abdul Hakim (1920-2012), the composer of the Saudi National Anthem. There, they viewed a collection of artifacts from his prolific career and his mission to preserve and promote Saudi music culture globally. Saira also had the opportunity to play the world’s first laser qanun, housed at the museum.
In Jeddah, Saira Peter also visited the Saudi Music Hub, where her performance for music students from the Saudi National Orchestra was met with rapturous applause and even tears.
She commended the young artists, acknowledging the unique beauty of Arab music with its microtones and ornamentation, and admired the rapid growth of Saudi Arabia’s cultural industries. As a gesture of appreciation for her performance, renowned Saudi singer Mohamed Radi Alsharif from the Saudi National Orchestra performed a majas specially for Saira Peter and her team.
The London-based singer, who is also the director of NJ Arts (Noor Jehan Arts) in London, founded by global megastar Sir Cliff Richard OBE, has performed on stages across the globe, including in Pakistan, often alongside her husband, musician Stephen Smith. She also trains vocalists at NJ Arts, which Sir Cliff Richard remained a patron of until his retirement.
Saira Peter, a soprano, has performed internationally in seventeen languages and is trained in both eastern and western classical music. With a background in the sciences, she brings a scientific approach to the art of singing.
She also holds an MA in History from Queen Mary University of London, which has deepened her understanding of the transformative power of the arts in fostering social cohesion, as seen in the Iberian Peninsula under Arab rule.
Recently, Saira Peter has taken a significant step toward bridging the worlds of opera and Sufi music. She is currently working on the world’s first Sufi-Opera® production, Marvi’s Tears, in collaboration with Opera Director Jonny Danciger MA (Oxon) (known for his work on Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; Leonard Bernstein’s Candide; Puccini’s Tosca), Composer Paul Knight (known for Macbeth; Christmas Carol; Treasure Island; Much Ado About Nothing), and British Librettist Zafar Francis MA PGDip (London). The opera, which features Saira in the role of the heroine, Marvi, is based on a story by the renowned Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.
Marvi’s Tears tells the story of one of Latif’s seven heroines, who, through her bravery, saves her village and secures justice and peace throughout the nation. The themes of harmony, women’s leadership, and social transformation reflect contemporary issues facing the modern world.
This production, a fusion of western opera and eastern classical music, will be performed in English for a global audience, bringing Latif’s timeless story to the stage for the first time.
