On August 21st and 22nd, at Theatre Beanfield, over a decade’s worth of craftsmanship came to life in Faouzia’s dramatic final crescendo. The theatrical spectacular represented the last chapter of her FILM NOIR World Tour and the cinematic realization of a debut album years in the making. Marrying lush, full instrumentation with a commanding stage presence, Faouzia was fantastically dark, theatrical, and breathtakingly grand. Armed with a mature outlook on hardship, her FILM NOIR debut was a soaring leitmotif for heartbreak, a beautiful Montreal overture that was well worth the wait.
Text by Jamie Xie
Photos by Louis Alson
Consider this the final cut: On August 21st and 22nd, Montreal hosted the last stop of Faouzia’s FILM NOIR World Tour, with this review focusing on the August 21st performance. The curtain call of a decade-long journey to releasing her debut album (of the same name) was inevitably going to garner a rather grand finale. Dubbed “one of the loudest” crowds of the tour by Faouzia herself, Theatre Beanfield provided the perfect backdrop for an evening of theatrical grandeur. Equipped with a soaring mezzo-soprano belt, Faouzia was a powerhouse performer and classically trained pianist who effortlessly weaved storytelling elements with lush musical arrangements to cinematic, gothic effect.
The evening began with a soft piano interlude. The dimly lit stage was shrouded in mystique when Faouzia emerged from behind a curtain in a sleek trench coat. She paused to take in the crowd before she playfully reentered moments later in a chic black tulle gown to evoke the film noir archetype of the femme fatale; a fitting entrance for an artist whose creative universe is built on drama and the double-edged sword of love. Strobe lights flickered around her as she opened the concert with “LOST MY MIND IN PARIS,” the glamorous opening track of her long-awaited debut album which chronicled the mythology of Parisian crimes of passion. Followed shortly after was “SWEET FEVER,” in which Faouzia proved to be intimately acquaintanced with the Shakespearean idea of love as madness, a musical motif that would be revisited throughout the night. She sang with a rich velvet depth and a theatrical intensity which invoked the romance of silver screen soundtracks. Accompanied by a string quartet backtrack, Faouzia’s vocals were most powerful when they leaned into their darker, more vulnerable ideas—echoing “take all of my heart,” and “seal all of my scars.”
With 11 years of Royal Conservatory piano training and over a decade of experience working in the music industry, Faouzia has spent years expanding her repertoire and honing her craft. That rigorous classical foundation was put on full display when the stage crew brought a piano on stage mid-set for the following two pieces. In the lead single “PORCELAIN,” she delivered a heartbreaking power ballad accompanied by her own piano concerto composition. It was a striking moment of versatility seeing intricate piano arrangements intertwine with the emotional language of contemporary pop. “Fur Elise” stood perhaps as one of the most creative performances of the night. In this pop reimagining, Faouzia reworked the renowned Beethoven piece of the same name into a desperate plea of lonely love. “Play with me like my name is Fur Elise,” she sang, “lie to me and say you’ll never leave.” It was an impressive display of technical prowess and a stark reminder of her formidable musicianship, a perfect microcosm of her classical sensibilities blending seamlessly with pop elements.
Where the piano segment showcased her classical background, the next chapter of the night paid homage to the musical influence of her upbringing. For a cover of Sting’s “Desert Rose,” the pianist and guitarist were repositioned downstage while Faouzia serenaded the audience from a barstool to create an intimate, curated atmosphere. She reimagined the song with a minimalistic finish, transforming the British electro-pop hit into an airy ballad rewritten with vocal flips, trills and acrobatics in mind. Faouzia made the song distinctly her own and was keen to showcase her unique artistic aesthetic while simultaneously honoring her Moroccan heritage through the track’s bilingual English-Arabic lyricism.
“Anybody Else” offered another noteworthy moment of audience intimacy in the form of a surprise duet with a fan. It was an exceptionally rare cultural exchange between artist and audience that broke the fourth wall and offered a moment of sincere heart-to-heart beneath the night’s spectacle. The audience interaction culminated beautifully in the fan-selected song “Hero” which was chosen over “Tears of Gold” as the throwback song of the night. The selection served as a nod to the fans who had followed Faouzia since her earliest releases, allowing her to briefly step outside the FILM NOIR world and revisit the music and fans that built the foundation for her present day musical career.
Undoubtedly, the showstopper of the night was the fan-favourite breakout single “UNETHICAL,” where Faouzia leaned fully into the macabre. With lyrics like “tearing off my skin just to let you in,” the song reveled in the paradox of love as both romance and suffering, blurring the line between devotion and obsession, all to ask “isn’t [love] a bit unethical?” As a dramatic 11 o’clock number, it felt like the concert’s thesis statement. To complement the mood, Faouzia emerged centre stage draped in a black veil reserved only for this track, her silhouette evoked a gothic bride. She carefully curated a theatrical image that mirrored the song’s dark romanticism, while her commanding vocals carried the performance to one of the night’s most arresting, indulgent climaxes.
Faouzia’s Montreal finale was a force to be reckoned with, not simply because of the impressive power of her voice, but because of her ability to make that power serve a greater vision. From classical piano arrangements to intimate balladic performances, Faouzia in concert is a rare sighting of an extremely disciplined artist deeply in control of her craft. The theatrical world of FILM NOIR is as immersive as it is dynamic and multifaceted. Faouzia has proven herself to be both the star and director of her own cinematic universe, delivering a finale worthy of a standing ovation.
