Zubair Qureshi
Saira Peter, a British-Pakistani soprano (female opera singer) recognized as Pakistan’s first Sufi Opera singer, mesmerized the audience with a soulful performance in a musical held at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Syed Jamal Shah was the chief guest on the occasion. Prominent government officials, diplomats and a large number of music fans had come to attend the performance and spend a memorable evening listening to her magical voice.
Jamal Shah praised Saira Peter and called her a trend-setter in the Pakistani music world as she had ventured to select a comparatively complex and entirely western genre of classical music. You are indeed a highly accomplished singer and we feel proud of you, he said while commending her performance.Saira Peter and her husband, music director Stephen Smith, started the performance with classical opera receiving applause from the audience. Nowadays she is known as an accomplished Sufi Opera singer. In her weekend performance, she sang opera and classical songs in Urdu, Pashtu, Sindhi, Balochi and Punjabi and also rendered a special Arabic song. She is currently working with a team of British artists to develop the world’s first full-scale ‘Sufi Opera’, a musical stage drama based on the story of Umar Marvi.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Director General (DG) of the PNCA Muhammad Ayuob Jamali welcomed the guests at PNCA Auditorium. One could see the audience going crazy after listening to popular tracks.
Saira Peter has also pioneered a fusion style of the qawwali genre in which she incorporates both Western operatic and South Asian classical styles of singing.
