Lina Sleibi to perform Dalida tribute at Dubai Opera this October

The young Palestinian singer will take on the legendary crossover star's hits for one night only

DALIDA
Credit : Brown/Rouget/DALLE 

Dalle / Reporters
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From Helwa Ya Baladi to Salma Ya Salama, Dubai Opera will transport a crowd through a nostalgic night in October as it pays tribute to the French-Egyptian singing icon Dalida.

The one-off ‘Tribute to Dalida’ will see the late star's work performed by rising artist Lina Sleibi, who herself has a soft and evocative voice, and often mixes Arabic lyrics with French and English (just as Dalida did).

For one night on Thursday October 10, Sleibi will sing Dalida's songs in Arabic, English, Italian, and French. She will take on, among other hits, Bambino, Le Temps Des Fleurs and Ahsan Nas.

The 26-year-old Palestinian singer is known for her musical covers of Arabic music, and her most famous cover to date was of Dalida's Helwa Ya Baladi. Sleibi's Dalida cover has had more than 7 million hits on YouTube.

Dalida, aka Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was born in Egypt to Italian parents on January 17, 1933. She grew up in the suburbs of Cairo, and was crowned Miss Egypt in 1954, before moving to Paris later that year, to pursue a career on screen.

She was a multifaceted talent and recorded songs in seven languages, including Arabic, French, Italian, and English. Her work is still covered by modern stars today, and is often remixed.

She constantly switched between genres throughout her career and sold a staggering 170 million albums worldwide.

Dalida’s life, however, was not as glamorous and perfect as her public image would have it seem: it ended with tragedy, with the star committing suicide on May 3, 1987 at the age of 54.

In 2016, the movie Dalida was released to celebrate her story and portray the singer's complex and troubled life.

Italian actress Sveva Alviti plays the singer in the critically acclaimed film:

Tickets are on sale now at Dubaiopera.com, with prices ranging from Dh150 to Dh450.