News Center — Syrian singer and composer Rasha Rizk was born in Damascus on March 5, 1976. She began her musical journey at the age of nine when her family discovered her distinctive vocal quality and her ability to accurately capture melodies. Her mother was her first supporter, working to refine her talent through study and reading.

In 1988, at the age of twelve, she joined the "Tali'a Damascus" musical group led by the late musician Adnan Abu Al-Shamat. This experience served as her first musical "kitchen," where she trained in the fundamentals of Eastern art, including Qudud, Muwashahat, and classical Arabic music, and learned the basics of stage presence and performing before an audience.

In her teenage years, Rasha began to show great interest in jazz, rock, and Western melodic styles. This was the first spark that ignited in her mind the idea of blending her love for Eastern music with Western melodic styles.

In 1996, she founded her first jazz band, "Eitar Al-Shama" (Wax Frame), with musician and guitarist Ibrahim Suleimani, who later became her life partner. The band presented a unique and distinctive musical style (Indie) that blended Western instruments with Syrian Eastern identity and lyrics.

The Spark That Began the Art of Childhood and Opera

In the late 1990s, the turning point that made Rasha Rizk a voice associated with the childhood of millions of children across the Middle East came through her contract with Al-Zahra Center for Dubbing, which was the producing entity for Spacetoon channel. However, Rasha was not merely a voice performer; she began as a composer, lyricist, and singer simultaneously. She was distinguished by her ability to color her voice to suit different series and ideas—from action-packed themes like Hunter x Hunter and Detective Conan, to emotional and sentimental ones like Remi and Ahd Al-Asdiqa, and many other theme songs that remain etched in hearts.

Despite working, singing, and recording theme songs and poems, she insisted on studying academic operatic music. She enrolled at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus and studied operatic singing (soprano) under the most prominent experts and professors, including Russian opera singer Galina Khaledieva and Syrian musician Solhi Al-Wadi. She graduated from the institute in 2002, immediately applying her studies to her career, working as a teacher and academic professor at the institute where she studied, and as an opera singer at the Damascus Opera House, participating in international and local concerts in Paris, Italy, and Amman.

This period was marked by a golden era for both opera and the Spacetoon children's channel, witnessing her voice reaching millions of homes. She also starred in the first Arabic-language opera, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), composed by Dutch musician Michiel Borstlap, which was performed in Doha.

She released her first album, Beitna (Our Home), on May 13, 2007, in Damascus. The album was the result of her collaboration with her husband and their band. It featured a blend of Eastern jazz and included eight popular songs, such as "Matar" (Rain), "Kadhdhab" (Liar), and "Isharat Istifham" (Question Marks), achieving great elite success among alternative music fans.

Due to the difficult circumstances and war in Syria, Rasha Rizk left Damascus and settled in France, Paris. She continued her artistic career as a soprano singer in the French opera and as a musical consultant for children. She collaborated with many famous bands, most notably singing with the French band ERA on songs like "Prayers" and "Reborn." She also sang the famous theme song for the film Caramel by director Nadine Labaki.

The Second Turning Point in Her Artistic and Musical Career

In early 2017, Rasha Rizk released her album Malak (Angel), which represented a significant emotional and political milestone. In it, she summarized her vision of the changes taking place in the Middle East, considering it a humanitarian cry against turning victims into numbers, and dedicated it to children, women, and all those who have no voice to represent them.

Rasha indicated that the album's songs were inspired by true and real stories. She summarized the philosophy of this album in a statement: "These songs are the voices of people we could not hear amidst the bombing, injustice, dictatorship, and misery."

"Nostalgia" Concerts for Mass Audiences

In recent years, Rasha Rizk has focused on performing live concerts in major Arab and international theaters (such as Dubai, Riyadh, Amman, Doha, and recently Ithra Center in Saudi Arabia).

These concerts carried the slogan "Sold Out" and attracted thousands of young people from the 1990s generation. In her concerts, she blends songs from her own albums Beitna and Malak with re‑performances of legendary Spacetoon theme songs with majestic orchestral arrangements that bring back childhood memories for the audience.