‘Unforgettable’, ‘Beyond Words’, ‘History maker’! Last night, before an audience of five thousand in the Royal Albert Hall in London, Pakistan’s Saira Peter created a musical explosion with fallout upon everyone listening either in the UK, or internationally by streaming media. The BBC’s Proms Praise event had never been like this before!
“Seated in a VIP box office was Pakistan’s High Commissioner to London, ““I’m delighted to be here to celebrate Pakistan’s first opera singer Saira Peter. It was an amazing performance, the way she fused both western and eastern, tabla and sitar and sang of her devotion to God
It was very inspiring, we are very proud of her, and I think she has created history. She is the First Pakistani and the only Opera singer , born in Karachi, to perform at the Royal Albert Hall. We are so very proud of what she has achieved, and we hope to see more of her.”
Saira has made an indelible impression upon everyone around her. The prestigious All Soul’s Orchestra, comprised of experienced musicians with international experience, found her music to be a challenge! They had never had to play such complicated compositions, requiring a fusion of intricate Pakistani sounds into Saira’s revolutionary new ‘sufi-opera’ compositions. On top of that, the genuineness of her presentation and her devotion to God was obvious. She had come not to perform, but to broadcast her Sufi (spiritual) music from her own lived experience. She was no actor, but a leader of rare quality and authority.
Accompanying her was a five hundred strong choir, massed from over forty independent choirs around London. They had never encountered an Asian Singer before, and some did not believe any Pakistani could sing, until they heard her! In one evening on this iconic stage, Saira proved, beyond all expectations, that opera vocalists are not exclusively European, they could even be Pakistani, an opera singer with a difference!
Artistic Director, Michael Andrews, introduced her as the evening’s representation of all of Asia that night. There was a tangible stirring. Her head-turning entrance commanded immediate attention. As she walked confidently onto the stage, she was showcasing a spectacular black Pakistani outfit. Intricately hand-embroidered by poverty-stricken village seamstresses, it had been especially commissioned for her to wear that night. Her opening song “Hoshanna”( Ho-Sana) is one of her own, composed in pure Pakistani raag, something that proved quite a challenge for the sophisticated Western classical musicians! Fusing West with East was entirely new for them, even requiring extra rehearsal time. Saira introduced her unique, complicated taan throughout the evening, even in the midst of previously, purely Western pieces. She commanded rapt attention from an audience that applauded her every move. Internationally, myriads watching online kept sending in wonderful comments every time Pakistan’s superstar appeared.
Saira performed three pieces during the night. There is now a rising demand for many more appearances. ‘We want to see more of her,’ is the worldwide response. Organisations are requesting if they can arrange events for her. This month, she will be travelling to the USA for meetings and engagements, returning to the UK to be honoured at a Summit to be held in Windsor Castle in July.
Saira Peter has now joined the ranks of some of the music world’s biggest names to have headlined at “The RAH”, as it is affectionately known: The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Coldplay, Adele and Bob Dylan to name just a few. And what an impression she has made!
Saira Peter, Karachi Girl, has done it again!
