Lebanese artist Jaheda Wahbeh will inaugurate the fifth edition of the Moroccan Poets Festival on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at the Español Cinema Theatre in Tetouan. The festival will continue until July 1, and will feature numerous tributes, with the participation of poets, thinkers, critics, and artists from Morocco. It will also host various competitions, signings, and artistic and theatrical performances. Wahbeh, referred to as the "Poetess of Arabic Song" by the festival brochure, will be accompanied by a Moroccan musical ensemble led by Maestro Ilyas Al-Husseini. She will perform a selection of poems set to her music, including works by Mahmoud Darwish, Talal Haidar, Ahlam Mustaghanimi, Günter Grass, Al-Hallaj, and Omar Khayyam, along with well-known songs from the poetry of Gibran, Nizar Qabbani, and George Jirdak, as she presents a poem dedicated to the festival by Moroccan-origin Imam Al-Suhaili with her melodies.
It is noteworthy that Wahbeh will conclude this year's Douma Festival on July 12, presenting a visual concert titled "They in the Whirlwind of Melody, from Bayaf to Umm Kulthum," which she has previously performed in Bahrain and Dubai, receiving great acclaim. She promises the audience many surprises during the performance, which will be filled with drama, insightful scenography, and captivating spectacles.
