Prima donna Laura Mekhail, accompanied by Italian pianist and composer Daniele Ciminiello, captivated a Jeddah crowd on January 28 with a beautiful performance on the Hayy Jameel stage. In 2021 Laura, from Minya Governorate in Egypt, received the Andrea Bocelli Foundation-Community Jameel Scholarship. The inaugural recipient was French singer Clara Barbier Serrano, making Mekhail is the second winner and the first Arab woman to receive it.