Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Macron’s visit to Fairuz signifies French esteem for Lebanon’s No. 1 diva


Macron’s visit to Fairuz signifies French esteem for Lebanon’s No. 1 diva

1 / 2
Fairuz was born in 1934 with the birth name of Nouhad Haddad. (Supplied)
2 / 2
Her family had settled in Beirut’s Zoukak El-Blat district. (Supplied)
Short Url

https://arab.news/c38bt

Updated 01 September 2020
Antonio Munioz
Follow

Macron’s visit to Fairuz signifies French esteem for Lebanon’s No. 1 diva

  • Fairuz is seen by many Lebanese as a rare figure beloved across the political spectrum in a divided nation
  • Well known in France, the famous diva has received several French distinctions and held concerts in Paris
Updated 01 September 2020
Antonio Munioz

BEIRUT: Who does not know Fairuz, Lebanon’s “ambassador to the stars?” Who in Lebanon has never heard one of Fairuz’s songs? The legend of the Arab world is in the limelight now but for a reason other than her music: French President Emmanuel Macron visited her at her home in Rabieh, north of Beirut, on Tuesday when he arrived in the Lebanese capital for the second time in a span of weeks.

It came as no big surprise that Macron chose to meet Lebanon’s No. 1 diva instead of its feuding politicians or civil society activists. Many Lebanese still start their day listening to Fairuz’s songs and see her as one of the rare figures beloved across the political spectrum, a symbol of unity in a culturally rich and refined country now riven by disagreements.

Starting in the 1950s, Fairuz made her way, alongside the Rahbani brothers, Mansour and Assi (her husband), into every Lebanese household to sing for love, freedom and peace. Generations fell in love listening to her songs. The Lebanese people made it through the war with her patriotic tunes that were never too far away.




Fairuz’s wide repertory covers almost 3,000 songs, three movies and about 20 musicals. (Supplied)

Fairuz was born in 1934 with the birth name of Nouhad Haddad. Her family had settled in Beirut’s Zoukak El-Blat district. She took the first step of her career in 1947 by joining the choir of Radio Beirut.

Bowled over by her voice, the radio’s director, Halim El-Roumi, gave her the nickname Fairuz (Arabic for emerald) and hired her. That was where she met the Rahbani brothers. While married to Assi, she gave birth to four children: Ziad, Rima, Layal and Haali.

Together, they revolutionized Lebanese folk and popular songs, making Fairuz, along with Egypt’s Oum Kalthoum, the most famous voice of the Arab world.

Fairuz’s wide repertory covers almost 3,000 songs, three movies and about 20 musicals. Her career took off after her first concerts during the Baalbeck International Festival, where “she shook the columns of the Roman temples,” in the words of the former French culture minister, Jack Lang.

Despite being internationally renowned, Fairuz was little known by the general public. She voluntarily maintains this aura mystery, rarely giving interviews to the press. “Catherine Deneuve used to say that to be a star, one should always keep a bit of a mystery,” said Georges Bechara, a person close to Fairuz and who is passionate about her and her art.

“She does that by not being always accessible, which adds weight and sparkle to her presence. She does not take over television screens and magazine pages. The public adores her for her discretion and simplicity.”

Fairuz the artist is as complex as Nouhad the person. During her concerts, she adopts a fixed and cold posture. However, other versions of Fairuz exist: the cheerful, the mischievous and the joker. “In their operettas, the Rahbani brothers have often created characters similar to Fairuz such as Loulou, Zayoun and Qronfol,” said Bechara.

“Assi was able to perfectly understand the true character of his wife in order to create roles that resembled her. Fairuz was his muse and his son, Ziad, got his sense of humor from his mother not his father.”

Georges believes that Fairuz expresses herself through her songs without needing to expose herself to the media. “She has sung about love, life, death, the homeland, prayer, God … .The social side does not interest her.”

Since the beginning of her career, especially during the Lebanese war, Fairuz chose to remain discreet about her political opinions, in contrast to a lot of artists who were politically involved. “Fairuz sings for Lebanon. She never wanted to be with one party against another or support a politician against another,” said Bechara.

Throughout her songs, the Lebanese diva sings for peace and love. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, a Sunni or a Shiite, Moroccan or Iraqi, her voice reaches the depths of your being, transcending conflicts and identities.

In 2008, she caused controversy when she performed in Damascus while Lebanon was plunged into a deep political polarization between the two political camps of “March 8” (pro-Syrian regime) and “March 14” (anti-Syrian regime). She remains a national symbol that transcends political and generational divisions.

“Her character in private resembles that of our mothers,” said a person close to her “When she has visitors, she serves coffee and offers sweets and chocolates. She insists just like our mothers. She acts like any other woman at home, with the same Lebanese habits of generosity and hospitality.”

In public, however, Fairuz is withdrawn and very shy. She always has stage fright before shows. This is also why she avoids contact with the public and the press.

Another reason for this aloofness is Fairuz’s deep commitment to her private life, which has been filled with sorrow and torment. There is a dissociation between Fairuz and Nouhad. As a mother, the singer has been through a lot of hardships. Very few people know her deep wounds and daily battles.

Fairuz personally cares for her son Haali, who is disabled from birth, a situation that has never been easy for her. In 1978, her marriage with Assi ended along with their vibrant artistic collaboration. Her daughter, Layal, died in 1987 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Since 1979, her son, Ziad, has been composing her songs, introducing a new style for the diva that the audience was not accustomed to. This sparked a debate between those nostalgic for the romantic and popular songs of the Rahbani brothers and those adoring Ziad’s jazz-infused and more eclectic songs.




Over the years, Fairuz has received a number of French distinctions and held several concerts in Paris. (Supplied)

The relationship between Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers has always been the focus of much speculation. We still wonder who created whom? Was Fairuz the one who catapulted the brothers to fame? Or were the Rahbani brothers the ones who thrust Fairuz into the spotlight?

“She allowed the gifts of the Rahbani brothers to be interpreted. This is what we call the genius of the voice,” said Bechara. “Obviously, the lyrics and music of Mansour and Assi were exceptional. However, we must also admit that the sensitivity and the voice of Fairuz made it possible for the art of the Rahbani brothers to be consecrated. In fact, her son Ziad explained this. His mother often added her personal touch. Her voice created music. This is the power of Fairuz.”

Fairuz has generally had troubled relations with political leaders. She has always refused to hold a private concert for any head of state. “During the government of Charles Helou, the Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba visited Beirut in 1965,” said Bechara. “At the time, the Lebanese authorities asked Fairuz if she could hold a public concert at the Casino du Liban in honor of Bourguiba, a huge fan of the Lebanese diva.”

During the rehearsal, Bechara recalls, the Lebanese authorities asked the singer if she could go to the presidential palace for a private recital in the presence of the two presidents for security reasons. “Fairuz flatly refused to perform at the palace and the concert was canceled,” he said. “As punishment, the diva’s songs were banned from the Lebanese public radio. Fairuz eventually performed in Tunis, where Bourguiba finally got the chance to attend her concert.”

In 1976, during the Arab Summit in Cairo, as Fairuz prepared for a concert at the theater of “Andalusian Garden” (Hadikat Al-Andalos), Bechara said, “the Lebanese delegation, headed at the time by President Elias Sarkis, urged the singer to perform for the Arab heads of state at the presidential palace of Anwar Sadat. She categorically refused.”

“Fairuz repeatedly said that the best tribute she would like to receive during her life is having a theater named after her. President-elect Bachir Gemayel had promised her that. However, he was assassinated,” Bechara said.

Over the years, Fairuz has received a number of French distinctions and held several concerts in Paris. In 1988, President Francois Mitterrand made her a “Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters,” while President Jacques Chirac bestowed on her the “Knight of the Legion of Honor” title in 1998. It is now President Macron’s turn to honor her, which he has done with a visit to her home.

Topics: Lebanon

Related

Middle-East
For many Franco-Lebanese people, Lebanon is where the heart is
Middle-East
Advocate of Lebanon’s arts dies after suffering injuries in blast

With Hezbollah weakened, Lebanon to hold presidential vote

Updated 4 sec ago
Reuters
Follow

With Hezbollah weakened, Lebanon to hold presidential vote

  • Lebanon has not had a president for more than 2 years
  • Parliamentary vote takes place amidst historic regional shift
Updated 4 sec ago
Reuters
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel’s war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group’s ally Bashar Assad in neighboring Syria.
The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October, 2023. None of the political groups in the 128-seat parliament have enough seats to impose their choice, and they have so far been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.
The vote marks the first test of Lebanon’s power balance since the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah — which propelled its then Christian ally Aoun to the presidency in 2016 — emerged badly pummelled from the war with Israel.
It takes place against a backdrop of historic change in the wider Middle East, where the Assad-led Syrian state exercised sway over Lebanon for decades, both directly and through allies such as Hezbollah.
Reflecting the shifts, Hezbollah and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have dropped their insistence on Suleiman Frangieh, their declared candidate for the last two years, and are ready to go with a less divisive figure, three senior sources familiar with their thinking said.
Candidates in focus include army commander General Joseph Aoun — said by Lebanese politicians to enjoy US approval — Jihad Azour, a senior International Monetary Fund official who formerly served as finance minister, and Maj. Gen. Elias Al-Baysari — head of General Security, a state security agency.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he felt happy because “God willing, tomorrow we will have a new president,” according to a statement from his office.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also expressed hope in comments to France Inter radio, saying the election was “a prerequisite for the continuation of this dynamic of peace” and also for Lebanon’s economic and social recovery.
However, two of the sources and an analyst cautioned that it was not yet certain any candidate would be elected. To win, a candidate must secure 86 votes in a first round, or 65 in a second round.
Reflecting Western and regional interest in the vote, French and Saudi envoys met Lebanese politicians in Beirut on Wednesday. Four Lebanese political sources who met the Saudi envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, last week said he spelt out preferred qualifications which signal Saudi support for Aoun.
Saudi Arabia was once a big player in Lebanon, vying with Tehran for influence in Beirut, before seeing its role eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah still seen with sway
Aoun, head of Lebanon’s US-backed army, would still need 86 votes because his election requires a constitutional amendment, as he is a still-serving state employee, Berri has said.
A State Department spokesperson said it was “up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor.”
“We have been consistent in our efforts to press Lebanon to elect a new president, which we see as important to strengthening Lebanon’s political institutions,” the spokesperson said.
Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa said last week there was “no veto” on Aoun. But the sources said Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the United States, will not support Aoun.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon desperately needs foreign aid to rebuild.
Much of the damage is in Shiite majority areas.
Hezbollah, its supply line to Iran severed by Assad’s ousting, has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.
Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Annahar newspaper, was not certain anyone would be elected, even after the major shift in the balance of power in Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s weapons have long been a source of division.
Underlining the influence Hezbollah and Amal still wield, he said the only way a president could be elected would be if they agreed on Aoun or Azour. But if they tried to install their preferred candidate, this would “sever the oxygen from Lebanon.”
Saudi Minister Faisal bin Farhan said last October that Riyadh had never fully disengaged from Lebanon and that outside countries should not tell Lebanese what to do.

Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

Updated 08 January 2025
AFP
Follow

Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

  • IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from rain
Updated 08 January 2025
AFP

Geneva: The Red Cross called Wednesday for safe and unhindered access to Gaza to bring desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory wracked by hunger and where babies are freezing to death.
Heavy rain and flooding have ravaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands with up to 30 centimeters of water inside their damaged tents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The dire weather conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” in Gaza, it said, pointing out that many families were left “clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets.”
Citing the United Nations, the IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from the rain and falling temperatures.
Those deaths “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there,” IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
“I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance,” he said.
“Without safe access — children will freeze to death. Without safe access — families will starve. Without safe access — humanitarian workers can’t save lives.”
Chapagain issued an “urgent plea to all the parties... to put an end to this human suffering. Now.”
The IFRC said the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was striving to provide emergency health services and supplies to people in Gaza, with an extra sense of urgency during the cold winter months.
But it warned that “the lack of aid deliveries and access is making providing adequate support all but impossible.”
It also lamented the “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” which it said meant people were unable to access the treatment they need.
“In the north of Gaza, there are now no functioning hospitals,” it said.
The IFRC stressed that the closure of the main Rafah border crossing last May had had a dramatic impact on the humanitarian situation, warning that “only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza.”

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Hamas

South Syria fighters reluctant to give up weapons: spokesman

Updated 08 January 2025
AFP
Follow

South Syria fighters reluctant to give up weapons: spokesman

  • Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule
  • Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad
Updated 08 January 2025
AFP

Bosra: Fighters in southern Syria who helped topple President Bashar Assad are reluctant to disarm and disband as ordered by the country’s new rulers, their spokesman told AFP.
An Islamist-led offensive ripped through Syria from the north and into Damascus on December 8, bringing to a sudden end five decades of rule by the Assad clan.
On December 25, the country’s new Islamist rulers said they had reached an agreement with rebel groups on their dissolution and integration under the defense ministry.
New leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa said the authorities would “absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control.”
But a spokesman for the Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad, said the alliance did not agree.
“We’re not convinced by the idea of dissolving armed groups,” said its spokesman Naseem Abu Orra.
“We’re an organized force in the south... headed by officers who defected” from Assad’s army, he told AFP in Daraa’s town of Bosra.
“We can integrate the defense ministry as a pre-organized entity... We have weapons, heavy equipment,” he said.
Abu Orra said the group, led by local leader Ahmed Al-Awdeh, included thousands of men, without any Islamist affiliation.
Awdeh has good relations with former Assad ally Russia, as well as neighboring Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, sources close to his group said.
Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule.
As they spread across the country, government forces cracked down on the demonstrators, triggering defections from the army and one of the deadliest wars of the century.
After losing swathes of territory to rebels and jihadists, Assad’s forces clawed back control of much of the country with the backing of Iran and Russia.
Daraa returned to government control in 2018, but under a deal mediated by Russia, rebels were allowed to keep their weapons and continue to ensure security in their region.
Then, after more than 13 years of civil war that had killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country, everything changed.
In the north of Syria, an Islamist-led rebel coalition called Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) moved rapidly out of its bastion on the Turkish border to seize second city Aleppo from Assad’s forces on December 1.
Its fighters then advanced southwards toward the cities of Hama and Homs on their way to the capital.
“We... decided to begin liberating the south of the country to reach Damascus” from the other direction, Abu Orra said.
He said they elaborated their own military plans in Daraa, but there was “some coordination” with HTS in the north.
Several witnesses have told AFP that they saw Awdeh’s men, recognizable by their headdress typical of southern Syria, posted near the Central Bank and in several neighborhoods in the early hours of December 8.
By then, Assad had already fled the country, former officials have told AFP.
“It was chaos but we were briefly able to take control of vital institutions to ensure their protection,” Abu Orra said.
He said the Southern Operations Room also stood guard outside several embassies, including those of Egypt and Jordan, and led some foreign diplomats to a prominent hotel to ensure their safety.
He said “several foreign countries” had called Awdeh to request his help.
When HTS forces arrived in town at the end of the afternoon, the Southern Operations Room withdrew to Daraa to avoid “chaos or armed clashes,” Abu Orra said.
Two days later, Awdeh met Syria’s new leader Sharaa. But he did not attend the December 25 meeting during which other rebel factions agreed to disband and join a future army.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria

Related

Middle-East
EU could lift some Syria sanctions quickly, says French FM
Middle-East
Qatar and Turkiye dispatch two power ships to generate electricity for Syria

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as US pushes for ceasefire

Updated 08 January 2025
Reuters
Follow

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as US pushes for ceasefire

  • US, Qatar, Egypt intensify ceasefire efforts amid ongoing conflict
  • Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled, hostages free
Updated 08 January 2025
Reuters

CAIRO: Israeli military strikes across Gaza killed at least 22 people on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said, as the US stepped up efforts to overcome sticking points between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire to end the war.
One of the airstrikes killed at least 10 people in a multi-story house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday, while another killed five in the nearby Zeitoun suburb, medics said.
In Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, an Israeli airstrike killed three other people.
In Jabalia, where the army has operated for more than three weeks, an Israeli airstrike killed four people, medics said.
On Tuesday, Israeli military strikes killed at least 24 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, medics said, with two airstrikes hitting tent encampments in Mawasi, to the west of the southern city of Khan Younis, killing 18 people. The dead included several women and children.
There was no comment by the Israeli military on those incidents.
As Israeli continued its bombardments, the US, Qatar and Egypt were making the most intensive effort in months to reach a ceasefire, with one source close to the talks saying this was the most serious attempt to reach a deal so far.
The outgoing US administration has called for a final push for a deal before President Joe Biden leaves office, and many in the region view President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 as an unofficial deadline.
“Things are better than ever before, but there is no deal yet,” the source told Reuters.
But with the clock ticking, both sides accuse the other of blocking a deal by adhering to conditions that have torpedoed all previous peace efforts for more than a year.
On Tuesday, Hamas stood by its demand that it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free. Hamas also said that Trump was rash to say there would be “hell to pay” unless the hostages go free by his inauguration.
Osama Hamdan, an official with the Islamist group, told a news conference in Algiers on Tuesday: “I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements.”
Nearly 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave. The assault was launched after Hamas fighters stormed Israeli territory on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Hamas Gaza

EU could lift some Syria sanctions quickly, says French FM

Updated 08 January 2025
Reuters
Follow

EU could lift some Syria sanctions quickly, says French FM

  • Some Syria sanctions ‘could be lifted quickly’: French top diplomat
Updated 08 January 2025
Reuters

PARIS: European Union sanctions in Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country’s recovery could be lifted swiftly, France’s foreign minister said Wednesday.
The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Bashar Assad’s rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could take a similar decision soon without giving precise timing, while adding that lifting more political sanctions would depend on how Syria’s new leadership handled the transition and ensured exclusivity.
“There are other (sanctions), which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which hinder the recovery of the country. These could be lifted quickly,” said Barrot, who met Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday with Germany’s foreign minister.
“Finally, there are other sanctions, which we are discussing with our European partners, which could be lifted, but obviously depending on the pace at which our expectations for Syria regarding women and security are taken into account.”
Three European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the EU would seek to agree to lift some sanctions by the time the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Jan. 27.
Two of the diplomats said one aim was to facilitate financial transactions to allow funds to return to the country, ease air transport and lessen sanctions targeting the energy sector to improve power supplies.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available two or three hours per day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims to provide electricity for up to eight hours per day within two months.
The US waivers allow some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7, but do not remove any sanctions.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria France sanctions

Related

Middle-East
Qatar and Turkiye dispatch two power ships to generate electricity for Syria
Middle-East
Germany pushing for EU to relax sanctions on Syria, sources say

Latest updates

Pakistan to host over 150 dignitaries from Jan. 11-12 for girls’ education summit
With Hezbollah weakened, Lebanon to hold presidential vote
Key Pakistan-China highway remains blocked for sixth day amid power outage protests
Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza
PCB moves tri-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for Champions Trophy

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.