Meriem "Marie" Soussan (in Arabic: ماري سوسان, in French:
Marie Soussan, January 17, 1895, Alger - 1977, Marseille France ) was
a Jewish-Algerian actress and singer associated with the rise of the
Algerian theater from the early 1930s, and the first woman in an Arab
country to appear in the theater (until then men played women
roles).Along with Rachid Ksentini, she became a partner in one of the
most popular theater pairs during the interwar period. she also
recorded 20 78-rpm records.Born on January 17, 1895 in the lower
Casbah of Algiers. Her mother Louna Aboucaya was the maternal aunt of
impresario Edmond Nathan Yafil. Similar to so many artists of her
times, she practiced her musical skills at family events, where she
devoted herself to singing and the darbuka. Sometime after World War
I, she joined El Moutribia, the orchestra and theater troupe of her
famous cousin Yafil. Her stage debut would seem to have occurred in
1925 at the Casino d’Alger. Over the next fifteen years, she
sustained a busy career with El Moutribia, acting and touring
alongside her comic partner Rachid Ksentini. Together, the
Jewish-Muslim duo became center stage. Many of those acts were then
recorded to disc. Soussan, of course, was also a talented solo artist,
recording an array of genres, classical and popular, first with
Gramophone and then with Polyphon. All of this earned her early
membership in the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de
musique (SACEM).She left Algeria in 1959 and embarked on a business
career in the southern France, before Algeria gained independence and
after a deterioration process in the situation of artists there and
Jewish artists in particular following World War II. She died in 1977,
and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Marseille.
Marie Soussan, January 17, 1895, Alger - 1977, Marseille France ) was
a Jewish-Algerian actress and singer associated with the rise of the
Algerian theater from the early 1930s, and the first woman in an Arab
country to appear in the theater (until then men played women
roles).Along with Rachid Ksentini, she became a partner in one of the
most popular theater pairs during the interwar period. she also
recorded 20 78-rpm records.Born on January 17, 1895 in the lower
Casbah of Algiers. Her mother Louna Aboucaya was the maternal aunt of
impresario Edmond Nathan Yafil. Similar to so many artists of her
times, she practiced her musical skills at family events, where she
devoted herself to singing and the darbuka. Sometime after World War
I, she joined El Moutribia, the orchestra and theater troupe of her
famous cousin Yafil. Her stage debut would seem to have occurred in
1925 at the Casino d’Alger. Over the next fifteen years, she
sustained a busy career with El Moutribia, acting and touring
alongside her comic partner Rachid Ksentini. Together, the
Jewish-Muslim duo became center stage. Many of those acts were then
recorded to disc. Soussan, of course, was also a talented solo artist,
recording an array of genres, classical and popular, first with
Gramophone and then with Polyphon. All of this earned her early
membership in the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de
musique (SACEM).She left Algeria in 1959 and embarked on a business
career in the southern France, before Algeria gained independence and
after a deterioration process in the situation of artists there and
Jewish artists in particular following World War II. She died in 1977,
and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Marseille.
Share this

SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.