‘Starring in French, International Play is Universal Opportunity’: Hiba Tawaji Tells Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji has been celebrating the warm welcome she has received in New York with the group of the “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” play, in which she plays the main female role.

Since the debut of the play on July 13, and at the end of every show, the audience stands and applauds for several minutes to express their appreciation. At New York’s David Koch Theater, Hiba Tawaji plays the main female character in the play, Esmeralda, the charming gypsy, alongside Angelo Del Vecchio, who plays the bell ringer, hunchback Quasimodo.

During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Hiba Tawaji said she is thrilled to play such a great role on one of the most prominent stages in the world, noting that she’s set to perform 13 shows until July 24, which means she performs twice a day sometimes. But this doesn’t bring her down. On the contrary, “the audience is showing delightful enthusiasm, applaud, and await us outside the theater to take pictures with us. This really touches me and the group, and gives us more motivation,” she said.

Lebanese musician Oussama al-Rahbani who is currently in New York and attended the debut show, described the warm welcome as “amazing”, noting that the audience applauded for 10 minutes for the actors after the first show. “Hiba’s performance was breathtaking, and the abundant congratulations and motivations will make her more focused on the work.” According to Rahbani, many known figures and artists attended the show, including Yuja Wang, one of the world’s greatest pianists, who congratulated Hiba and took a picture with her.

Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was turned into a play 25 years ago. Hiba Tawaji was selected to play Esmeralda in 2016, after it was performed by French star Helene Segara. The role opened the door wide for her to stand on the world’s best stages. From Paris’ Palais des Congrès six years ago, Hiba Tawaji started her tours with “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.

“We performed in Russia, Turkey, Lebanon, Belgium, Switzerland, and we made a large tour in Taiwan and China. People really love this play. Our top three tours were in Canada and London’s West End. Then, it was the turn of New York, but the play was postponed twice due to the pandemic. Our New York tour was supposed to take place a few years ago,” the Lebanese singer said.

“New York is a city of art, culture, and musicals, it’s full of life and celebrations. To be in such an entertaining, cultural capital is highly significant for me and the group. We feel great to see the audience clapping that much after each performance,” she added.

From a Lebanese singer who shined on the Rahbani theater and built a unique team with Osama al-Rahbani, Tawaji moved to perform in The Voice France, and then to starring in “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”, which led her to New York. Hiba Tawaji said her journey wasn’t that easy. “Before ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’, I performed a musical, ‘The Return of the Phoenix’ written by the great Mansour al-Rahbani, and musically composed by Osama al-Rahbani. I debuted my theatrical journey 15 years ago from a prestigious and respectful place,” she explained.

“After ‘The Return of the Phoenix’, I performed the main female role in four musicals. I was young back then, in addition to all the albums, concerts, and music videos we presented in the Arabic world. All that helped me handle my new responsibilities, and continue my journey,” she added.

The young Lebanese singer learned how to deal with both the eastern and the western audiences and built a great expertise in audience psychology.

“There are people who have more sharp expressions, while others are calmer, but that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate what they are watching. When we performed in Taiwan and China for example, the silence surrounding the hall was astounding, we didn’t hear a hiss, for this much they respect what’s happening on stage. But after the show, the applause, shouting, and enthusiasm we heard were unexpected. The play has been ongoing for 25 years, and this means it’s successful and popular,” Tawaji said.

In 2016, the play was officially relaunched, and since then, Hiba Tawaji is touring the world. “We see that spectators love it, request it, and applaud it. Some sing with us, some cry, some laugh, and some clap their hands. The most beautiful thing about New York is the diversity of its audience. There are Americans of course, and there are many other nationalities, and this is so beautiful and flattering,” she said about people’s interaction with her work.

Hiba Tawaji’s journey is exceptional and incomparable in the Arab world. “I don’t think any other Arabic artist had the chance to participate in an international play like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I don’t like to speak about others, but I am saying that I am enjoying a universal opportunity to perform as the female protagonist of a French play touring the world. It’s a major step as I am singing in front of an international audience.”

The Lebanese singer doesn’t know how many times she played Esmeralda, “but they are over 500 times for sure, because we make long tours in each country,” she noted.

Hiba Tawaji is preparing a new album with Osama al-Rahbani, and some of its songs are set to launch soon. “It’s a diverse album, we worked with new people, which has given the album a different spirit. I am so excited to launch it because it includes many surprises,” she said about her upcoming album.

According to Osama al-Rahbani, the album was made in Lebanon, Paris, and New York. “It needs around 45 days to release. Two music videos have been produced so far, and we plan for more works,” he explained. Rahbani believes that his success with Hiba Tawaji is driven by her potential and talent. “Work in music needs interaction. It’s a ping pong game, and its success requires two people,” he said.

Since its debut in 1998 by producers Richard Cocciante and Luc Plamondon, “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” has been performed in 23 countries around the world, and in nine languages. However, New York’s audience enjoyed the show in French with English subtitles.

On a sunny afternoon in Cape Town's seaside village of Simon's Town, three young chacma baboons cause a commotion, clambering on roofs, jumping between buildings and swinging on the gutters.

Enchanted tourists stop to photograph the troop crossing the road. Locals are less impressed: it's a daily scene in the charming village nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain National Park.

About 500 chacma baboons -- among the largest monkey species and weighing up to 40 kilos (88 pounds) -- roam the peninsula south of Cape Town, says the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

And as human development pushes up the mountain into their natural habitat, the animals are increasingly entering plush properties to forage in gardens and take the pickings from the bins. Some manage to sneak into houses where they can wreak havoc.

Many locals are fond of the creatures, giving them pet names and following their daily adventures on social media.

But others are increasingly frustrated.

"They've become so bold now. They're more domesticated than they should be," said Duncan Low, 60, who runs an ice cream shop.

The intruders have even started raiding kitchens and grabbing food from plates in restaurants. "They're on a sugar and fast-food rush," Low said.

In 2021, the city put down a notorious alpha-male monkey who had terrorized residents with more than 40 raids for food in rubbish bins, from lawns and porches, sometimes entering homes while people were inside.

- Monkey management -

Tension between humans and baboons is "the highest it's ever been", said ecologist Justin O'Riain, who directs the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa at the University of Cape Town.

A baboon on the edge of a wild and an urban area is "the most difficult animal in the world to manage", O'Riain said.

"They are strong, they can climb... and they can learn from each other: there's no landscape that they can't conquer."

As human settlement of the Cape has expanded, the baboons have been "pushed higher and higher up the mountain" where foraging conditions are harder, O'Riain added.

The lush gardens that people have built, with fruit trees and swimming pools, are tempting attractions.

The City of Cape Town, in partnership with park authorities, has for years run a program to manage the marauding monkeys that relies on teams of baboon monitors.

They employ a primarily non-lethal approach, O'Riain said.

However, some techniques, such as firing paintball guns to keep troops away or culling a particularly problematic animal, have come under fire.

Amid an increasingly emotional outcry, vociferous campaigner Baboon Matters announced court action against the city and parks authorities in May for failing to implement what it considers more acceptable control measures, such as baboon-proof fencing and bins.

Facing criticism and funding limits, the authorities said the baboon management program would be wound down by the end of the year as they investigate other "more sustainable urban solutions".

It will however remain in place through December -- a particularly busy month for tourists -- but with fewer rangers, it said.

"We're going to lose our first line of defense," O'Riain said, with more baboons already entering urban areas often at risk to their lives.

- Deaths highest in 10 years -

Thirty-three baboons were known to have died between July 2023 and June 2024, the highest number in 10 years, city authorities say.

Nearly half the deaths were caused by human factors, including shooting with pellet guns, collisions with vehicles and dog attacks.

Coexistence with baboons should come with "a degree of human compliance", starting with managing food waste, conservation activist Lynda Silk, head of the Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation group, said.

"We don't need to be in competition with our natural resources: there can be ways that we can manage our lifestyles to minimize the negative impacts," she said.

For O'Riain, the only viable solution to the baboon battle is to erect fencing in certain areas that is made up of electric wiring and underground mesh to prevent the animals from digging underneath.

A prototype installed 11 years ago had shown great success, with almost no animals entering the area, he said. A 2023 report already suggested where the fencing should be placed.

"Baboons can come and forage right up to the edge of the fence and no one will disturb them," said O'Riain.

"It's a completely peaceful interaction, a win-win for people and for baboons."

‘Starring in French, International Play is Universal Opportunity’: Hiba Tawaji Tells Asharq Al-Awsat