Did the “Nightingale’s” Legacy Really Get Lost? The Truth Behind the Disappearance of Abdel Halim Hafez’s Archive from Maspero

Al-Taj News – Reports about the disappearance of the archive of late Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez from the Egyptian television building “Maspero” sparked concern among his fans, before his family intervened to clarify the truth about the matter.

Mohamed Shabana, the son of Abdel Halim Hafez’s nephew, confirmed that the archive of the “Dark Nightingale” is fully intact, denying reports that it had disappeared from Maspero.

Shabana said in press statements that all the concerts performed by the singer live on air were given by him to Egyptian television in the form of copies, and that he did not receive any financial compensation for the works he donated to Maspero, whether recordings of his concerts or his artistic works.

He added that these recordings represent an important part of the artistic legacy left by Abdel Halim Hafez, thereby confirming that reports about the disappearance of his archive do not apply to the materials belonging to the late artist, according to his family’s account.

These statements came amid growing controversy over the fate of the Maspero archive, after Egyptian art critic Tarek El-Shenawy raised the issue of the disappearance of parts of the archives of a number of artistic, cultural, and literary figures who appeared on Egyptian television screens over the course of decades.