Interview with Noa R. | Coming out of a coma by listening to Enrico Macias

The story of Noa Rabinovici is a true fairy tale… which could have turned into tragedy. The 20-year-old Swiss singer will be in Montreal on November 26 to open for Enrico Macias. How did this young woman become the protégé of the popular French singer of Algerian origin? Story of an improbable encounter.

Little Noa had a turbulent, if not dramatic, start to life. She was born in Geneva with four brain tumors. With around 160 epileptic seizures per day, the doctors’ prognosis was not positive. After several surgeries, she slipped into a deep coma at the age of 4.

In interview with The PressNoa R. (her stage name) says: “A doctor my parents consulted told them: “Your daughter is ruined. The only thing she will be able to do is sell wicker baskets at Christmas markets.” »

However, his parents never stopped hoping. His father, a big fan of Enrico Macias, began playing his CDs in his hospital room to lighten the mood. Basically, only the music made Noa react, who still did not speak.

The rest could have been invented, but it is true, we swear by Noa and her agent, Alexandra Piot-Venizelos. While the play is playing All the suns of friendshipin which Macias sings: “Wake up, life is beautiful, even if your heart is in trouble…”, the little girl wakes up.

Let’s jump back in time, and spend the many years of rehabilitation of the young girl, who showed several delays. From the start of adolescence, Noa felt the desire “to sing and move people”, like the artists she listens to, she tells us.

When Noa was barely 12 years old, her father came into contact with Enrico Macias in Paris, through friends who knew him. “He wanted to share my story with him,” Noa tells us. The singer of Algerian origin first meets his dad, before getting to know him.

“It’s a magnificent story,” Enrico Macias tells us. It seems incredible, but it’s the truth. It was a miracle that took place. But it’s not thanks to me, it’s my song that was playing, that’s all. It’s more thanks to her, and it was really a nice meeting that followed. »

A “musical godfather”

When the young girl turned 16, Macias, moved by her journey, decided to take her under his wing by becoming her “musical godfather”.

“I told myself that if my song had in some way allowed her to get her life back, I could help her in her career if she wanted,” he told us. I saw in her an incredible will to overcome all the physical shortcomings caused by the illness. And then she has a crazy love of singing. She has the vocation. That’s why I invite him to do my first games. »

At the age of 18, the young woman, who has a few singles in hand, but no album yet, opened for Enrico Macias at the Olympia in Paris.

How did she experience this? “I gave the best of myself,” replies Noa, laughing, “but I was obviously afraid, I wondered what people would think, how they would find me. It wasn’t easy, but it worked out well. »

What kind of advice does Enrico Macias give him? “I often tell her to believe in what she is doing, but also to be patient,” the main person responds. Impatience is the biggest enemy of a beginner singer. She is a good listener. She is an exceptional girl. »

In 2020, the two artists released a song together, Children of the stars. Moreover, Enrico Macias likes to sing with her on stage. “We’re going to sing All the suns of friendshipit’s always moving, and then we’ll see, we could sing Woe to him who hurts a child if she wants it! »

And album, a piece, a film

Since she told her story and opened for Enrico Macias, Noa R.’s projects have multiplied. First there is this first album, expected next spring, which will address themes that are close to his heart, including hope, perseverance, the rights of childhood, and of course love!

“I like happy songs,” the singer tells us. All my lifehis hit released this year, or even Don’t go awaywritten by Marc Lavoine and released in 2021. In this first long play, she will sing pieces composed by John Mamann, Seysey and Claude Lemesle, famous lyricist associated with Serge Reggiani and Michel Fugain.

That’s not all. Noa R. will star in a musical play that will tell her story. A play directed by Frenchman Steve Suissa in which she will sing around ten songs written by John Mamann, which will probably be recorded. “I respond to my parents’ concerns with songs,” she explains.

Finally, a fiction film project, still inspired by his story, is in preparation. It will be directed by Claude Zidi Jr — the son of the famous filmmaker Ripoux. “It will be fictionalized, of course, but it will be my story,” Noa tells us. It is not yet known who will star in the film. The release is scheduled for 2026.

And health through all this? “It’s going very well,” Noa tells us.

Check tour dates

A career spanning 60 years

Enrico Macias begins a Quebec tour this Wednesday in Joliette which will celebrate a 60-year career. “It’s a Big Bang between the public and me,” he tells us. He will be surrounded by around fifteen musicians, including his son Jean-Claude Ghrenassia, on bass, who is also the musical director of the tour. The singer of Algerian origin, who sang about exile to Arab-Andalusian tunes, made his debut in Montreal in 1968. “That’s what started my entire international career,” he remembers with emotion.

He will notably be at Place des Arts in Montreal on November 26 and at the Palais Montcalm in Quebec City on November 29. Next month he will turn 86, but he continues to perform on stage. “The stage is my country, it’s my whole life,” he says. Even if he still sings his first hits — Goodbye my country, People from the North, L’Oriental, The girls of my countryetc. —, he continues to compose new songs. Next year, he will release a 29^e studio album with new tracks.