Geroge Wanis - El Nikheily

Georges Wanis is a Franco-Egyptian tenor whose career spans an exceptionally wide repertoire: from early music to contemporary creation, encompassing opera, oratorio, lied, French mélodie, and recital. An internationally acclaimed voice, he embodies a living bridge between Mediterranean and European musical cultures.

Born in Cairo in 1971 to an Egyptian father and an Italian mother, he first studied French literature before dedicating himself fully to lyric singing. He trained at the Cairo Conservatory under Violette Makar, then continued advanced studies in France, notably at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he received distinctions in singing — consolidating a training shaped by several musical traditions.

On stage, he takes on leading roles from the core operatic repertoire: Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca, Samson in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, and Orpheus in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice — roles that showcase the full power and flexibility of his tenor voice. His international career has taken him to major opera houses and festivals across Europe — France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, and Germany — as well as to the Middle East, Egypt, the Maghreb, and beyond, affirming a stage presence that transcends both repertoire and geography.

His range extends from major oratorios and symphonic works — including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony — to lieder and French mélodies, reflecting an artistic curiosity that continues to evolve. Alongside his solo career, Georges Wanis is deeply committed to transmission: he teaches singing and leads masterclasses, particularly in Egypt, extending through pedagogy the human and artistic engagement that drives his voice on stage.

As part of the Les Gardiennes de la Mer artistic residency at Résidences Rocabella, Georges Wanis returns to the Mediterranean — the sea that, from Cairo to the great stages of Europe, has never ceased to run through his personal and artistic history. A space of crossings and civilisational encounters, it resonates deeply with the journey of an artist whose voice carries within it multiple cultures, languages, and musical memories.

This residency offers him the space for a creative retreat and an inward journey, away from the demands of major opera houses. Facing the sea, Georges Wanis explores what his voice says about him beyond roles and repertoires: the freedom of singing without costume, without scenery, in dialogue with the elements alone. Between memory, identity, and transmission, he reflects on what it means to carry a lyric voice between East and West — and on how music can continue to weave connections where borders seem to divide.