Artist
Emma Shapplin
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Emma Shapplin began her music career in the classical tradition, studying opera with various teachers before moving to rock. She discovered that although rock gave her a certain artistic freedom and brought her to an exploration of the lower range of her voice, she was still not entirely satisfied. Consequently, Emma decided to create her own style with the help of great musicians from a wide array of genres of the industry. She first studied harmony and piano in Paris and then met with vocal-coach Yaël Benzaquen – a unique and experienced maître de chant (“master of song”) whom Emma subsequently always consulted, especially when exploring new vocal possibilities and directions.
This self-made style evolved into a combination of diverse influences including opera, lyric poetry, modern trance, rock and synth-pop.
Emma was raised speaking French but decided she wanted her first two albums to be written mainly in medieval Italian, because Emma believes, "It is a language that sings naturally and leaves a large open space to dreams". Her first album Carmine Meo (1998) represents her debut step as a professional artist. A few years later, Emma was invited by composer Graeme Revell to sing three original and graceful tracks based on poetry of Dante from his score for the Hollywood movie Red Planet - a soundtrack that she shared with Peter Gabriel and Sting. For her second album Etterna, Emma, a great lover of poetry and literature, wrote all the lyrics directly in medieval Italian, playing with time and styles using, as she says, many "carefully chosen archaic words and expressions" in order to evoke the great ancient poets, playwrights and their works, even including, for example, fragments of Sappho’s poetry.
In terms of the music itself, Emma was interested in developing compositions with another artist as well and consequently invited Graeme Revell to join her, whom she enjoyed working with on Red Planet and who eventually composed half of the music on Etterna. As Emma likes to explain, "He brought his maturity and the smoothness of his orchestration.”
One of Emma’s most extraordinary collaborations occurred when the London Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied her, playing her and Revell’s composition scores at Abbey Road Studio. With the London Philharmonic Choir singing as well, Emma was absolutely in heaven. The experience was a very special moment that was truly unforgettable and magical.
As with her first album, Emma wanted Etterna to evoke a little world in itself. If Carmine Meo was a world of fire and earth, Etterna was imagined as a world surrounded by water and air -- a world emerged from the fog and vanishing through tormented water with fairy-like characters finding their way through the darkness and unlighted mists, surveying the ocean floor, reflective and waiting for an escape.
Carmine Meo sold over two million copies around the world and became multi-platinum many times, which gave her start and introduced her work to more than 25 countries. Her second album Etterna led Emma to experience very remarkable and bewitching stage performances, which she produced and staged herself.
Although the "Etterna Show” continued to play for many years around the world, widely acclaimed and frequently with standing ovations, it was never video-recorded in its entirety. An excerpt can be found on Emma's Official website, which is a long version of an EPK produced by Nimue Music. "
Emma has performed many times and in some of the most amazing places around the world, including the Acropolis in Athens, as well as the Olympia arena in Greece, the Kremlin Grand Palace in Moscow, the Esplanade Opera House in Singapore, the Cesarea Arena in Israel, the theatre Carré in Holland, in a newly excavated open air Roman Mausoleum near Belgrade for 10 000 people, at an open air concert on the site of an immense temple in Bali, on the Tunisian seashore, in Monaco for an ice skating event hosted by Prince Albert, and at Hammamet, to name but a few.
Emma most recently wrote and composed her new album Macadam Flower, released late 2010.
Macadam Flower: Pop, synth, electro album composed and written by Emma Shapplin in 3 languages (English, French and Poetic Ancient italian)
Emma Shapplin's brand new opus shows she is determined and unafraid of change, yet still full of sensuality and soul. This is not the Emma you know, the neoclassical diva with a soprano voice as from an angel choir, but a completely reinvented artist with a revamped, fresh style of music and vocal interpretation that pulls this album onwards into the core of the future by means of an intricate and immersive blend of soft rock, pop and neoclassical styles. Emma is also the songwriter of this new album, which simultaneously enchants and inspires with heights of sensuality and beauty, revealing the rise of a new soundscape for the sensory experience."
The new live DVD of her newest show “The Macadam Flower Tour” is a journey through her diverse vocal and musical approaches that embrace these diverse forms including opera, pop- rock synthpop and neo-classical.
Points of sale
Head There!
2025
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July
MELHEM ZEIN
08:30 PM | Joseph Tohme Skaff
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
MANIA THE ABBA TRIBUTE
09:00 PM | Serenata by Nabu
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
BLOOM with GHINWA
07:00 PM | Daraj El Zouk
MOUHAMMAD KHAIRY
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MARWA NAGY singing UMM KULTHUM
09:00 PM | Serenata by Nabu
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
MARIE SLEIMAN Featuring Soprano LENA KHATER
09:30 PM | Casino du Liban
ZIAD BOURJI
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MAGIDA EL ROUMI
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
Diwaniyat Hob - ديوانية حب
08:30 PM | Echoes of the Golden Era | Beiteddine Palace
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
Symphonic Electro-Dance
08:30 PM | Château Rweiss
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
SHEHERAZADE
07:30 PM | IXSIR winery
MELHEM ZEIN
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
SHEHERAZADE
07:30 PM | IXSIR winery
Tribute to Musician MOHAMMAD ABDULWAHAB
08:30 PM | Ghalboun
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
We group and DJ Marc French 80s night
08:30 PM | Zaarour Club
WAEL JASSAR
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
Lebanese Classical Night Maestro LUBNAN BAALBAKI
08:30 PM | Ghalboun
ADONIS
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
Love and Revenge
09:00 PM | MusicHall
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
AL SHAMI
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
GUY MANOUKIAN
08:30 PM | Ehden
CARLOS
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Jason Derulo Live Concert
08:30 PM | Forum de Beyrouth
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH HANINE
07:30 PM | Batroun
Amioun Heritage Festival - AKHRAS in concert
08:30 PM | Amioun
MOEEN SHREIF
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MAYYAS
08:30 PM | Cedars International Festival
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Cedars Transportation - MAYYAS
Transportation Cedars
Echoes of the Cedars by Michel Fadel and Rony Barrak
08:00 PM | ARZ EHMEJ
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH ZEF
07:30 PM | Batroun
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
HERITAGE - Dadju & Tayc
08:30 PM | Forum de Beyrouth
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH IYAM EL LIRA
07:30 PM | Batroun
JOSEPH ATTIEH
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
Sparkling Summer with RODGE
07:00 PM | BAR NATIONAL
The Musical كلو مسموح - Anything Goes
08:30 PM | Performed by the incredible Carole Samaha | Beiteddine Palace
JOHN ACHKAR
09:30 PM | Beirut Waterfront
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
ZADE DIRANI
08:30 PM | Forum de Beyrouth
ADAM
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
The Musical كلو مسموح - Anything Goes
08:30 PM | Performed by the incredible Carole Samaha | Beiteddine Palace
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Opera CARMEN
08:00 PM | Baalbeck
GUY MANOUKIAN
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
ABEER NEHME
08:30 PM | Ehden
Transportation for Baalbeck Festival - Carmen
04:00 PM | Transportation Baalbeck
SAINT LEVANT IN CONCERT
09:00 PM | Batroun
DJ STEPH DIAB
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
WAEL KFOURY
08:30 PM | Cedars International Festival
Cedars Transportation - WAEL KFOURY
Transportation Cedars
Transportation for Baalbeck Festival - Carmen
04:00 PM | Transportation Baalbeck
Opera CARMEN
08:00 PM | Baalbeck
MOEEN SHREIF
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Ehden - DANCING MOON III
08:30 PM | Ehden
Fundraising Event for LeBAM
08:30 PM | DANCE AROUND THE WORLD | Beiteddine Palace
JUNAID ZEIN EL DINE & ABBAS JAAFAR
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
ELISSA
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
BLACK COFFEE
08:00 PM | Cedars International Festival
Cedars Transportation - BALCK COFFEE
Transportation Cedars
"Fragile" by Tania Saleh with the participation of Khaled Mouzanar
08:30 PM | Smar Jbeil Citadel
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
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