'Star of the East' Umm Kulthum brought back to life at hologram concert in Jordan

Jordanians were on Thursday treated to a unique experience of seeing the late great Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum perform "live" at the Palace of Culture in Amman via state-of-the-art holographic technology. 

The show, directed by Hassan Hayna, attempted to capture the famously spectacular atmosphere of Umm Kulthum’s live concerts during her lifetime.  The audience was able to witness the much-loved singer, in full holographic technicolour, perform her greatest hits accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra. 

The technology allowed for the hologram of Umm Kulthum to interact with the audience and change outfits to match the stage lighting and mood of the song.

It follows a similar, though much shorter, holographic performance by the singer put on in celebration of the singer’s life at the Cairo Opera House in 2020.

The one-hour-and-a-half-long concert featured the singer, dubbed “The Star of the East” due to her amazing contralto voice songwriting and legendary performances, showcasing some of her best-known works.  The audience was treated to songs such as “You are my Life”, “The Biography of Love”, “A Thousand and One Nights” and “Oh my Heart”. 

#عاجل
شاهد.. أم كلثوم تحيي حفلا في عمان بعد 48 عاما على وفاتها، ما القصة؟ (فيديو)#الأردن #الدستور

https://t.co/HhkPRqHKSP pic.twitter.com/DVIWK3sTFP

— جريدة الدستور - Addustour Newspaper (@AddustourNews) June 9, 2023

The show ran again twice on Friday night.

Umm Kulthum is beloved in her native Egypt – where she is known as the “Voice of Egypt” and “Egypt’s Fourth Pyramid” – but is also loved across the entire Arabic-speaking world and beyond. She was recently placed among Rolling Stone magazine’s “200 Greatest Singers of All Time”.