Fatima Al Hashimi and Ina Chareli Recital 2026 in Abu Dhabi

Fatima Al Hashimi and Ina Chareli Recital 2026 in Abu Dhabi brings Emirati soprano Fatima Al Hashimi and pianist Ina Chareli to Zayed National Museum in the Saadiyat Cultural District on Monday 7 December, as part of the Recital Series at Abu Dhabi Festival 2026. Their programme moves between opera, art song, popular classics and Arabic repertoire, with solo piano pieces in between, and alternates tender, reflective songs with more vibrant, dramatic ones. Doors open at 7pm and the recital starts at 8pm.

The artists

Fatima Al Hashimi, soprano

Fatima Al Hashimi is described by the festival as a distinguished Emirati opera singer, and her career has taken her well beyond the UAE. She has performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and at the Enescu Hall in Bucharest. At home she is an artist-in-residence at the American University of Sharjah and a founding member of the Emirati Musicians Association, so she is closely involved in building the country’s classical music scene as well as performing in it.

Ina Chareli, piano

Ina Chareli, born Ina Charuashvili in Georgia, trained at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire before moving to London, where she earned an Artist Diploma with Honours at the Royal College of Music under Dmitri Alexeev. She later studied at NYU Steinhardt in New York with Eteri Andjaparidze. She has played at the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and has been performing in the UAE for more than two decades, which makes her one of the most familiar pianists on the country’s concert stages.

The programme

This is a recital with a clear shape: well-loved soprano arias, a handful of songs that cross into popular music, an Arabic classic, and four solo piano showpieces. It is split into two halves with an intermission.

First half

• Puccini: O mio babbino caro, from Gianni Schicchi
• Farid al-Atrash: Ya Zahratan fi Khayali
• Bizet: Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante, Micaëla’s aria from Carmen
• Glinka, arranged by Balakirev: The Lark, for solo piano
• Schumann, transcribed by Liszt: Widmung, for solo piano
• Dvořák: Song to the Moon, from Rusalka
• Poulenc: Les chemins de l’amour

Second half

• Cilea: Io son l’umile ancella, from Adriana Lecouvreur
• Di Capua and Mazzucchi: ‘O sole mio
• Liszt: Liebestraum No. 3, for solo piano
• Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu, for solo piano
• Consuelo Velázquez: Bésame mucho
• Catalani: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, from La Wally
• Lehár: Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß, from Giuditta

Several of these will be familiar even to people who rarely go to the opera: O mio babbino caro and Song to the Moon are among the best-known soprano arias, and ‘O sole mio and Bésame mucho are known far beyond the concert hall. Placing Farid al-Atrash’s Ya Zahratan fi Khayali second, straight after Puccini, puts Arabic song right alongside the European repertoire rather than saving it for an encore. The Lehár that closes the evening is a glittering operetta number, a lively way to end. The works span roughly half a century, from Catalani’s La Wally of 1892 and ‘O sole mio of 1898 through Rusalka in 1901 and Adriana Lecouvreur in 1902 to Gianni Schicchi in 1918, Giuditta in 1934 and Bésame mucho and Les chemins de l’amour, both from 1940.

The piano solos give Chareli her own spotlight, from the delicate Glinka and the romantic Schumann-Liszt Widmung to Chopin’s whirlwind Fantaisie-Impromptu.

The setting: Zayed National Museum

Zayed National Museum sits in the Cultural District on Saadiyat Island and is dedicated to the life and legacy of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Holding an Emirati soprano’s recital here, in a festival series devoted to intimate performances, gives the evening a sense of place that a standard concert hall would not. A voice-and-piano recital, without an orchestra, also lets every phrase carry in the room.

House rules

• The recital is for ages 10 and over.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes early. If you are not seated before the start, your seat may be reassigned, and latecomers are only admitted at a break or interval, if at all.
• Phones must be on silent, and photography and recording are not allowed during the performance.
• Security may inspect bags, and prohibited items will be confiscated.
• Ticket sales are final, with no refunds or exchanges, and resale is not permitted.

Getting there

By car, head north-west on 8th Street through Sheikh Zayed Tunnel and Mina Zayed Tunnel onto Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, then take the exit towards Jacques Chirac Street. By bus, routes 94 and AR2 stop at Jacques Chirac St / Team Lab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, about a minute’s walk away. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are also easy.

Who it suits

This recital suits opera and art-song lovers, anyone who wants to support Emirati classical talent, and newcomers who would like a first recital built on famous tunes rather than rarities. Arabic music fans will find a Farid al-Atrash classic in an unusual setting, and piano lovers get four solo showpieces from a pianist with two decades on UAE stages.

For more, see our art and culture listings, things to do in Abu Dhabi, December events and what’s on in the UAE.