Fairouz Oudjida is an Algerian-Canadian international classical singer. She has performed in theaters around the world, including the II Palazzo Cusani in Milan, the Church San Marco in Florence, and the Place des Arts in Montreal.
Oudjida is a recipient of an arts and culture award from the Ottawa Arab League Council of Ambassadors. In 2014, the Club Avenir Foundation in Montreal awarded her the Women’s Entrepreneurship Prize. Oudjida also received the Algerian President’s Prize for Young Talents.
The singer performed at the Arab World Festival in Montreal in October. Specifically, she sang pieces from her September studio album, La Diva du Désert, after going on tour.
Fairouz Oudjida: The classical singer
Like opera singers Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai and Rihab Chaieb, Oudjida is a soprano. For several years, she was a soloist with the Algerian National Symphony Orchestra. Now, she is known as the “Desert Diva” for her adaptations of traditional Algerian, Maghreb, and Arab songs.
In 2016 Oudjida was the first woman to perform the Algerian national anthem at the Moufdi Zakaria Palace of Culture. The following year she was also the first woman to represent Algeria at Russia’s 12th International Classical Competition.
In 2018 the Wali of Algiers invited Oudjida to give a concert at the prestigious Algiers Opera. There, she sang from her signature Arab-Berber repertoire.
Oudjida released La Diva du Désert (Diva of the Desert), on September 24. The singer then went on tour to perform 8 concerts in the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec.
Fairouz Oudjida grew up in Algeria
Oudjida grew up in Hassi Messaoud, Southern Algeria, where her father worked.
The singer began training in classical music in the Algiers. She later continued her studies at the Music School of Milan. There, Oudjida sang works by composers including Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, and Bizet.
Oudjida moved to Canada in 2010.
Oudjida performed at the Arab World Festival
Montreal’s 22nd Festival du Monde Arabe ran from October 29 to November 13, 2021. For safety, the festival presented hybrid remote and in-person concerts and events. Performing artists represented several North African and Arab cultures including Syria, Egypt, Gnawa, Andalusia, and Lebanon.
Oudjida performed her lyrical North African and Arab repertory from La Diva du Désert. The Algerian singer showcased works of the Berber and Andalusian peoples.
The singer also worked with musicians including pianist Dominic Boulianne to produce La Diva du Désert. She recently recorded the album at Studio PM in Montreal. Some arrangements include the Andalusian folk song Misirlou, the Lebanese Li Beirut, and an original by lyricist Sylvain Turner.
“We worked very hard, my musicians and I, to make this album,” Oudjida told Liberté Algérie. The public, loyal to me, has been waiting for this for a long time, and I am proud of the result. I hope that it will enable us to make our music known to as many people as possible in Quebec and far beyond our borders.”
