São Paulo – TV special Um Abraço em Beirute (Embracing Beirut) will feature Brazilian singers and the Beirut Symphonic Orchestra in a concert for Lebanon. The initiative from the Consulate General of Lebanon in Rio de Janeiro will air on Brazil’s TV Cultura at 3 pm on Sunday (20) to raise funds for victims of the Port of Beirut blast last August.
The show will feature Brazil’s Lenine, Fagner, Frejat, Claudia Leitte (pictured), Daniel, and Melim. The singers have recorded their voices individually, with musical arrangements supplied by Lebanese descendant Brazilian maestro Tim Rescala. The songs will be mixed with instrumentation from the Beirut Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Harout Fazlian.
The show will also air on Lebanon’s LBCI (at 9 pm, Beirut time). Lebanese singer Jahida Wehbé will deliver a rendition of “Samba em prelúdio,” by Brazil’s Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell, in a new Arabic-Portuguese version by maestro Fazlian. Also featured will be “Rah Halfak Bel Ghosn Ya Asfour,” by Wadih el Safi, and a song by Zaki Nassif.
Lebanon’s consul general to Rio de Janeiro, Alejandro Bitar, said the event has been in the works since the week after the Beirut disaster. “We spoke with prominent Brazilian musicians and they aren’t charging any fees. My message is: I am aware that Brazil is also in a difficult situation, but Brazil is a big country with plentiful natural resources and capabilities. Lebanon needs help, because it’s a small country crushed under the weight of problems such as the pandemic, economics, and the issue of Syrian and Palestinian refugees. The Lebanese and Arab community in Brazil is very numerous and strong. They have risen to positions of prominence in politics, economics and culture. Please lend a hand to the Lebanese people if you can. They are going through so much adversity,” the consul said.
All donations will go to Lebanon’s Red Cross. A QR Code for an ABCC bank account will be available onscreen throughout the whole concert. “We find this to be a wonderful initiative. As usual, the ABCC is available to help with whatever is needed to address this issue in Lebanon. This is our duty, first and foremost, and the event will also air in Lebanon, so it will have visibility in both countries,” ABCC secretary-general Tamer Mansour said.
The concert will feature art direction from Tim Rescala and Ricardo Feghali, of the group Roupa Nova, with general direction by Maurício Valim and Marcelo Amiky.
Song excerpts and messages from other Brazilian artists will be shown, including Gilberto Gil, Zeca Baleiro, Wanderléa, Roupa Nova, Badi Assad, Sorriso Maroto, André Abujamra, Marina Elali, Orquestra de Refugiados. Brazilian personalities including Fernanda Montenegro, Dira Paes, Osmar Prado, Drica Moraes, Stella Miranda, Guilherme Fontes, Maria Alice Mansur and others will read excerpts from Lebanese writer and poet Gibran Khalil Gibran.
The show on TV Cultura will be hosted by Marcelo Tas, Adriana Couto (Didi) and Chris Maksud, with additional support provided by the Lebanese-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Rio de Janeiro, the Lebanese League, and the Federation of Lebanese-Brazilian Entities of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Quick facts
TV Special – Um Abraço em Beirute
Sunday (20), 3 pm
TV Cultura
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
