She has completely shied away from the limelight, but her image accompanies millions of Arabs daily

Fayrouz ... the image of beautiful Lebanon without wars or sects

French President Emmanuel Macron began his recent visit to Beirut by visiting the home of Fayrouz.

Emirates today

Fairouz, whose visit by French President Emmanuel Macron began his visit to Beirut at her home, is considered the ambassador of Lebanese art to the world, with whom Lebanese of all sects and political affiliations meet about her voice and songs.

Although she has been completely out of the limelight for years, and has stopped reviving concerts, Fairouz's exceptional voice, recognized by international experts, still accompanies millions of people across the world, as she sang for love, homeland, freedom and values.

The fame of Fayrouz, the slim, brown and cold woman, and her real name Nihad Haddad, went beyond the borders of the small country, attracting fans from all over the world.

It is considered one of the last adult generation in the golden age of Arab music in the twentieth century.

In Lebanon, Fayrouz refused to be dragged into political or religious rivalries, especially during the years of the civil war (1975-1990), and her songs dominated the rival radio stations on both sides of the battle lines, and for many, listening to Fayrouz's songs is a daily ritual.

In an interview with The New York Times in May 1999, she said after a concert she performed in Las Vegas, in response to a question about her excessive seriousness on stage: “If you look at my face when I sing, you will see as if I am not there.” She was constantly almost rigid on stage One movement or a shy smile is enough to ignite the enthusiasm of her fans.

Fayrouz was born in the village of Debbieh in the mountainous Chouf region, on November 21, 1934, to a father who works at a printing press, and a mother who took care of the family of four children.

Later, the family moved to the Zoukak El Blat neighborhood in Beirut.

At the end of the forties, the composer, Mohamed Felfel, who was looking for beautiful sounds to join the Lebanese Radio Chorus, discovered Fayrouz's talent.

And including her in the "Conservatoire" to learn the origins of music and singing.

The radio's music director at the time, Halim Al-Roumi, was impressed with the beauty of her voice, and suggested her artistic name, Fairouz.

funny

Backstage in the radio, Fayrouz got to know Assi and Mansour Rahbani, the composers who later became known, especially with her, to a wide fame, and their art was fundamentally linked to Lebanon, thus becoming an integral part of his heritage.

Fayrouz collaborated with the Rahbani brothers, starting in the early 1950s.

This resulted in a wide range of musical and theatrical works, and cinematic films that combined oriental melodies, Lebanese folklore and western tunes.

And a large number of them maintain their freshness, despite the passage of time.

Fayrouz sang to great poets, from Al-Akhtal Al-Saghir to Saeed Akl, who called her "Lebanon's ambassador to the stars", passing by Gibran Khalil Gibran and Elias Abu Shabaka.

Abdel Wahab, Filemon Wahba, and Zaki Nassif composed for her.

And it formed with the Rahbani brothers a milestone in the famous Baalbek festivals, and was dubbed "the seventh pillar of Baalbek."

In the mid-fifties, Fayrouz married Asi Rahbani, and they had four children: Ziad, and Layal, who died in 1987, a year after the death of her father, Hali, and Rima.

Many tragedies

Close to her say that she went through many tragedies on a personal level, from the death of her daughter to the disability of her son Hali, but she kept her light in her private and family gatherings.

Duha Shams, a journalist who has worked with her for a long time, says: “In fact, she is far from the cold image she reflects on the stage.

She is very funny whenever she wants. ”

Despite her wide fame, Fayrouz has always taken care to protect her family privacy.

However, this did not prevent the media from reporting on family news, including her disagreement with her husband Assi at a certain stage before his illness, and after his death, her disagreement with Mansour Al-Rahbani's family over artistic property rights, and disagreements about her artistic orientation between her two sons Ziad and Rima.

Concerts

For decades, Fayrouz's songs have been a link between the Lebanese.

During the civil war, she refused to sing in Lebanon, to avoid being considered a region without the other, while her country is an arena of conflict between sectarian forces supported by external forces.

She held her concerts abroad, stirring nostalgia and emotion in the hearts of the Lebanese fleeing to the capitals of the world, with songs such as: “I Love You Lebanon”, “Return Me to My Country” and “To Beirut”, which have been accompanying, since August 4, the date of the terrible explosion in the capital. Videos of the disaster broadcast by local television stations.

Fayrouz sang the most beautiful of what was said about Jerusalem, as “Zahrat Al-Madaen” and “We will return one day.” She also sang to Damascus, Makkah and other places, and to the homelands, revolutions, and peoples.

The late King Hussein of Jordan awarded her three medals.

Radio stations in Syria and Jordan, and other Arab countries, broadcast their songs heavily to this day.

Despite her extreme reservations, she caused controversy in 2008, when she sang in Damascus, three years after the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

Fayrouz refused to be drawn into political or religious rivalries during the years of the civil war, and her songs dominated the rival radio stations.

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