Fairuz
Fairuz on tour in the U.S., 1971
Background
information
Birth name
Nouhad Haddad
Born November 21,
1918 (age 89)
Origin Lebanon
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s)
Vocals
Years active
1949–present
Website
http://www.fairuzonline.com/
Fairuz (Arabic:
فيروز,
also spelled Fairouz or Fayrouz) (born November
21, 1918) is a distinguished Lebanese singer.
Born Nouhad Haddad (Arabic:
نهاد حداد)
in Jabal al Arz (Cedar Mountain), Fairuz is
known as "Our (Lebanese) Ambassador to the
Stars", "The Arabs' Ambassador", "Neighbour to
the Moon", and "The Poet of the Voice".
Contents
•
1 Biography
o
1.1 1935-1950s - The early years
o
1.2 1960s - The establishment of a new star
o
1.3 1970s - International fame and the Lebanese
Civil War
o
1.4 1980s - A new production team
o
1.5 1990s-present
•
2 Live concerts
•
3 Theatrical works
•
4 Discography
•
5 Television and film
o
5.1 Films
o
5.2 Television programmes
o
5.3 Documentaries
5.3.1 1971: Fairuz in America
5.3.2 1998: Fairuz
5.3.3 1998: Alone They Remain
5.3.4 1999: Arrab El Maw’ed (Time is Upon Us)
5.3.5 2003: We Loved Each Other So Much (We
Hielden Zoveel Van Mekaar)
•
6 Quotes
Biography
1935-1950s - The early years
Fairuz (Nouhad Haddad)
with her mother Liza al-Boustani, crossing
Martyr's Square in Beirut, 1945.
Nouhad Haddad,
later known as Fairuz, was born on 21 November
1935 in Jabal al Arz, Lebanon into a Maronite
family.[1] The family later moved into a home in
a cobblestone alley called Zuqaq el Blatt in
Beirut. Living in a single room of a typical
Lebanese stone house facing Beirut's
Patriarchate school, they shared a kitchen with
the neighbors. Her father, Wadi, worked as a
typesetter in a nearby print shop[2] and Lisa,
her mother, stayed home and took care of her
four children, Nouhad, Youssef, Hoda and Amal.
Nouhad was a shy
child and did not have many friends at school.
However, she was greatly attached to her
grandmother who lived in Debbieh, a village in
the mountains of Lebanon, where Nouhad used to
spend the summer. Nouhad adored the simple
village life. During the day, she helped her
grandmother with house chores and fetched fresh
water from a nearby water spring. She used to
sing all the way to the spring and back. In the
evening, Nouhad used to sit by the candle light
with her grandmother who used to tell her
stories from her voyage to the United States.
Fairuz in 1946.
By the age of ten,
Nouhad was already well known at her school for
her beautiful voice. She would regularly sing
during school festivals and holidays. This is
how she came to the attention of Mohammed
Fleifel, a well known Lebanese musician and
teacher at the Lebanese Conservatory, who
happened to attend one of the school's
celebrations in February 1950. He was greatly
impressed by her voice and performance and
advised her to enroll in the conservatory, which
she did. At first, Nouhad's conservative father
was reluctant to send his daughter to the
conservatory; however, he allowed Nouhad to
attend classes at the conservatory on one
condition, that her brother accompany her.
Nouhad's family encouraged her even though they
could not afford much, and one day her father
surprised her with a radio.
Fleifel cared for
Nouhad's voice in a fatherly way. Most
importantly, he taught her verses recitation
from the Quran (Recitative style known as
Tajweed). One day, prominent Lebanese musician
and head of the music department at the Lebanese
Radio Station Halim El Roumi (the father of
famous Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi) happened
to hear Nouhad sing. He was deeply impressed by
her voice and noticed that it had a rare
flexibility that allowed her to sing both
oriental and western modes admirably. At
Nouhad's request, El Roumi appointed her as a
chorus singer at the radio station in Beirut and
composed several songs for her. He chose for her
the name Fairuz, which is the Arabic word for
turquoise.
Fairuz and Assi
Rahbani on their wedding day
surrounded by members of their families, 1955.
A couple of months
later, Fairuz was introduced to the Rahbani
brothers, Assi and Mansour, who also worked at
the radio station as musicians. The chemistry
was instant, and soon after, Assi started to
compose songs for Fairouz, one of which was
'Itab (the third song he composed for her),
which was an immediate smash hit in all of the
Arab world, establishing Fairuz as one of the
most prominent Arab singers on the Arabic music
scene. Assi and Fairuz were married on January
the 23rd 1955, and Fairuz then converted to
Greek Orthodoxy (Assi's sect).
Fairuz had four
children: Ziad, a musician and a composer, Layal
(died in 1987 of a brain stroke), Hali
(paralysed since early childhood after
meningitis) and Rima, a photographer and film
director.
Fairuz's first
large-scale concert took place in 1957 as part
of the Baalbeck International Festival,
sponsored by Lebanese president Camille Chamoun.
Musical operettas and sold-out concerts followed
for years, establishing Fairuz as Lebanon's most
beloved singer, and as one of the Arab world's
most popular singers.
1960s - The establishment of a new star
Fairuz became the
"First Lady of Lebanese singing" (Halim el
Roumi) during the 1960s. At that period the
Rahbani brothers had written and composed for
her hundreds of famous songs, most of their
operettas, and 3 motion pictures. In 1969, as
popular as it was, Fairuz’s music was banned
from radio stations in Lebanon for six months by
order of the Lebanese government because she
refused to sing at a private concert in the
honor of the Algerian president Houari
Boumédienne during his visit to Lebanon. Despite
that, Fairuz's popularity soared even higher.
Fairuz made it clear that she would not sing to
any one individual, neither king nor president,
but she would always sing to the people.
1970s - International fame and the Lebanese
Civil War
In 1971, Fairuz's
fame became international after her major North
American tour, which was received with much
excitement by the Arab-American and American
community and yielded very positive reviews of
the concerts.
During the
Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), Fairuz never
left Lebanon to live abroad and did not hold any
concerts there with the exception of the stage
performance of the operetta "Petra", which was
performed in both the Western and Eastern parts
of the then-divided Beirut in 1978. However,
during that time period, Fairuz held many very
successful and record-breaking concerts and
tours in numerous countries around the
world.[citation needed]
She made her first
European TV appearance on French TV in
24/05/1975, in a "Carpentier special show"
called "Numero 1" dedicated to French star
Mireille Mathieu. She sang one of her greatest
hits "Habaytak Bil Saif" and was thanked and
embraced after performing it by Mireille
Mathieu. Following this TV appearance was her
Olympia of 1979 making the news on French TV due
to the major excitement this concert did in
France especially in the Arab community living
there.
1980s - A new production team
After the artistic
divorce between Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers
in 1979, Fairuz carried on with her son,
composer Ziad Rahbani, his friend the lyricist
Joseph Harb, and composer Philemon Wehbe.
Together, they forged new albums that yielded
tremendous success reinforcing Fairuz's image as
the constantly evolving and most prominent Arab
singer.
This success was
yet again prominent all over the world and
Fairuz made yet again her second and final
European Tv appearance on French TV on
13/10/1988 in a show called "Du côté de chez
Fred". Fairuz who had a concert at French city
"Bercy" on the 16th of October was the main
guest of French TV presenter "Frédéric
MITTERRAND". This show is considered to be a
very rare and exciting TV archive showing the
Lebanese Diva rehearsals for her concert at
Bercy in addition to "Jack LANG" giving Fairuz
the award "la médaille de Commandeur des Arts et
des Lettres" and a video montage of her previous
movies and concerts. In this show, Fairuz also
sings the following 3 songs "Ya hourrié", "Yara"
and "Zaali tawwal".
1990s-present
In the 1990s,
Fairuz produced six albums (two Philemon Wehbe
tributes with unreleased tracks included, a Zaki
Naseef album, three Ziad Rahbani albums, and a
tribute album to Assi Rahbani orchestrated by
Ziad) and held a number of large-scale concerts,
most notably the historic concert held at
Beirut's Martyr's Square in September, 1994 to
launch the rebirth of the downtown district that
was ravaged by the civil war. She appeared at
The International Baalbeck Festival in 1998
after 25 years of absence where she performed
the highlights of 3 very successful plays that
were presented in the 1960s and 1970s.
She also performed
a concert at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Arena in
1999 which was attended by over 16,000 Lebanese
spectators. Ever since, Fairuz has held sold out
concerts at the Beiteddine International
Festival (Lebanon) from 2000 to 2003, Paris
(2002), the United States (2003), Amman (2004),
Montreal (2005), Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Baalbeck,
BIEL (2006), Athens, Amman (2007) Damascus, and
Bahrain (2008).
Fairuz now works
exclusively with her composer son Ziad.
Her latest album,
Wala Keef, was released in 2002.
Her 2008
performance in Damascus caused considerable
controversy in Lebanon, given the tense
relationship between Lebanon and Syria. Several
members of parliament publicly asked her to
cancel the concert. She went to Syria where she
was received by a crowd of 7000 fans, screaming
her name at the borders, as her car passed into
Syrian grounds. Mosques and prayers on radio
were all held back as Fairouz's songs played day
and night through almost every media outlet in
the Syrian nation. Radio channels, TV channels,
the Syrian satellite broadcasters, restaurants
and cafes, and newspapers were all focused on
Fairouz's legendary return after 20 years
absence. However big this controversy has
gotten, it seems it has not affected her
popularity in Lebanon as she held the Orthodox
Good Friday Prayer Mass in West Beirut as
hundreds and hundreds crowded the church
premises.
She is to hold
another large concert in Syria in August 2008.
It is estimated that more than 60,000 people
will attend.
Live concerts
Fairouz during a live concert in Switzerland in
2001
Fairuz has
performed once or more in each of many countries
around the globe including Syria, Jordan, Iraq,
Kuwait, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco,
France, The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Greece,
Canada, The United States of America, Mexico,
Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and of course, her
very own Lebanon.
Fairuz has
performed in many venues such as the Royal
Albert Hall in London in 1962, the New York
Carnegie Hall in 1971, the London Palladium in
1978, L'Olympia de Paris in 1979, London's Royal
Festival Hall in 1986, the Shrine Auditorium in
Los Angeles (1971, 1981, and 2003), the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington D.C. (1981 and 1987) among many
others (for the complete concert chronology, see
Fairuz Concerts).
Fairuz has yielded
record-breaking performances in almost every
concert she has held around the world. Fairuz,
Assi, and Mansour have become the most famous
and dominant music production phenomenon in the
Arab world, and their music has spread beyond
the Arab world to Europe, the Americas, and
Australia.
Of Fairuz's
numerous concerts, few are officially released.
They are the Damascus 1960, Olympia 1979 concert
(audio and (video released in the 80's)), USA
tour 1981, Jarash 1983, Royal Festival Hall
London 1986, USA tour 1987, Baalbek 1998
(Video), Las Vegas 1999 concert (on DVD with
make over and rehearsals), Beiteddine 2000 and
Dubai 2001 (on DVD, it includes parts from
concerts in 1997 and 2002 as well as rehearsals
from 2001 and 2002 concerts, released May 2008).
Pirated versions of other concerts exist: Kuwait
1966, Syria and Egypt 1976, Olympia 1979,
Australia 1984, Syria 1985, Bahrain 1987, France
1988, Kuwait1989, Cairo 1989, London 1994,
Beirut 1994, and parts of the four Beiteddine
concerts (2000-2003), Parts of Dubai concerts
(1990-2006), Paris 2002, Amman 2004, Canada
2005, parts of the play "Sah Ennawm" which was
performed in Beirut (2006), Athens 2007 and
Bahrain 2008.
Theatrical works
Musical plays or
operettas were the cornerstone works of the
Rahbani Trio, Fairuz, Assi and Mansour. The
Rahbani Brothers produced 25 popular musical
plays (20 with Feirouz) over a period of more
than 30 years. They were possibly the first to
produce world-class Arabic musical theatre.
The musicals
combined storyline, lyrics and dialogue, musical
composition varying widely from Lebanese
folkloric and rhythmic modes to classical,
westernized, and oriental songs, orchestration,
and the voice and acting of Feirouz. She played
the lead roles alongside singers/actors Nasri
Shamseddine, Wadih El Safi, Antoine Kerbaje,
Elie Shouayri (Chouayri), Hoda (Fairouz's
younger sister), William Haswani, Raja Badr,
Siham Chammas (Shammas), Georgette Sayegh and
many others.
The Rahbani plays
expressed patriotism, unrequited love and
nostalgia for village life, comedy, drama,
philosophy, and contemporary politics. The songs
performed by Fairuz as part of the plays have
become immensely popular among the Lebanese and
Arabs around the world.
The
Fairouz-Rahbani collaboration produced the
following musicals (in chronological order):
•
"Ayyam al Hassad" ('Days of Envy' - 1957)
•
"Al 'Urs fi l’Qarya" ('The Wedding in the
Village' - 1959)
•
"Al Ba'albakiya" ('The Girl from Baalbek' -
1961)
•
"Jisr el Amar" ('Bridge of the Moon' - 1962)
•
"'Awdet el 'Askar" ('The Return of the Soldiers'
- 1962)
•
"Al Layl wal Qandil" ('The Night and the
Lantern' - 1963)
•
"Biyya'el Khawatem" ('Rings for Sale' - 1964)
•
"Ayyam Fakhreddine" ('The Days of Fakhreddine' -
1966)
•
"Hala wal Malik" ('Hala and the King' - 1967)
•
"Ach Chakhs" ('The Person' - 1968-1969)
•
"Jibal Al Sawwan" ('Sawwan Mountains' - 1969)
•
"Ya'ich Ya'ich" ('Long Live, Long Live' - 1970)
•
"Sah Ennawm" ('Did you sleep well?' - 1970-1971
- 2007-2008)
•
"Nass min Wara'" ('People Made out of Paper' -
1971-1972)
•
"Natourit al Mafatih" ('The Guardian of the
Keys' - 1972)
•
"Al Mahatta" ('The Station' - 1973)
•
"Loulou" - 1974
•
"Mais el Reem" ('The Deer's Meadow' - 1975)
•
"Petra" - 1977-1978
•
"Elissa" - 1979 (Never performed due to the
separation of Fairuz and Assi)
•
"Habayeb Zaman" - 1979 (Never performed due to
the separation of Fairuz and Assi)
Most of the
musical plays were recorded and video-taped.
Eighteen of them have been officially released
on audio CD, two on DVD (Mais el Reem and
Loulou). A pirated version of 'Petra' and one
pirated live version of 'Mais el Reem' in black
and white exist. 'Ayyam al Hassad' (Days of
Harvest) was never recorded and 'Al 'Urs fi
l’Qarya' (The Marriage in the Village) has not
yet been released (yet a pirated audio record is
available).
Discography
Fairouz possesses
a large repertoire of around 1500 songs out of
which nearly just 800 released. She has also
been offered prestigious awards and titles over
the years (check Fairouz Awards and
Recognitions).
Around 85 Fairouz
CDs, vinyls and cassettes have been officially
released so far. Most of the songs that are
featured on these albums were composed by the
Rahbani brothers. Also featured are songs by
Philemon Wehbe, Ziad Rahbani, Zaki Nassif,
Mohamed Abd El Wahab, Najib Hankash and Mohamed
Mohsen.
Many of Fairuz's
numerous unreleased works date back to the late
1940s, 1950s and early 1960s and were composed
by the Rahbani Brothers (certain unreleased
songs, the oldest of all, are by Halim el
Roumi). A Fairuz album composed by Egyptian
musician Riad Al Sunbati (who has worked with
Umm Kulthum) was produced in the 1980s and is
yet to be released. It is also thought that
there are fifteen unreleased songs composed by
Philemon Wehbe.
Television and film
Films
Fairouz and the
Rahbanis have also had their share of movie
production. They produced three films,
•
"'Biyaa El Khawatem'" (The Ring Salesman) in
1965 (based on the musical),
•
"'Safar Barlek'" (The Exile) in 1967,
•
"'Bint El Haress'" (The Guardian’s Daughter) in
1968.
The three films
drew large audiences across the Arab world,
world theatres, and further introduced Fairuz to
the Arab and world audience. These films are
released for sale.
Television programmes
Lebanese
Television has featured appearances by Fairouz
in the following television programs:
•
"Al Iswara" (The Bracelet)
•
Day'it El Aghani (Village of Songs)
•
Layali As'Saad (Nights of Happiness)
•
Al Quds fil Bal (Jerusalem in my Heart)
•
Dafater El Layl (Night Memoirs)
•
Maa Al Hikayat (With Stories)
•
Sahret Hobb (Oriental Evening)
•
Qasidat Hobb (A Love Poem), also presented as a
musical show in Baalbeck in 1973
Other television
programmes have been recorded for the Syrian TV,
though neither these nor the ones mentionned
above are released for sale.
Documentaries
There are five
documentaries about her life and work with the
Rahbani Brothers:
1971: Fairuz in America
Covered Fairuz’s first
major tour in North America. Produced by Parker
& Associates.
1998: Fairuz
A history of Fairuz and
Lebanon. The documentary begins with Fairuz’s
happy childhood and modest upbringing, the
summers she spent at her grandmother’s mountain
village, her beginning at the Lebanese Radio
Station, the long artistic journey with Assi and
Mansour Rahbani, the war days, and the return of
peace. The film tells the story of Lebanon
through Fairouz’s voice, which is a part of the
mosaic of Lebanese history, and a call to those
who left to return to the land she never left.
Directed by Frederic Mitterrand.
1998: Alone They Remain
Named after one of
her most famous songs, Alone They Remain is a
documentary that covers Fairouz’s rise to fame,
the history of her voice and Baalbeck Festivals,
Lebanon’s glorious days in the late 50’s, it’s
prosperity in the 60’s and early 70’s, and the
destruction that followed in the mid-70’s till
1990. It also encompasses the plays she and the
Rahbanis produced. Produced by Lebanese
Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI),
it was released after her historical return to
the Baalbeck Festivals.
1999: Arrab El Maw’ed (Time is Upon Us)
Covered Fairouz’s
historical performance at MGM’s Garden Arena. It
offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the
Lebanese legend while she and her entourage
prepare for the grand event. Scenes include
rehearsals, stage set up, a private reception to
honor Feirouz, as well as her visits to local
attractions. Directed by Rima Rahbani.
2003: We Loved Each Other So Much (We Hielden
Zoveel Van Mekaar)
Is a Dutch
documentary that depicts the love of the
inhabitants of Beirut for Fairouz and
illustrates the postwar reconciliation between
the different Lebanese parties through Fairouz.
Directed by Jack Janssen.
Quotes
Numerous
musicians, poets, scholars, critics and singers
around the world were deeply impressed by the
voice and performance of Fairuz. The admiration
of several of them is expressed in the following
quotes:
•
"To the Arab world Fairouz came suddenly, as a
miracle. At a time when Arabic singing was
weighed down with convention and predictability,
and spirits were nationally at their lowest, her
voice rang, as though from the beyond, the notes
of salvation and joy. Arabic music has never
been the same since. Nostalgic but vibrant, sad
but defiant, folkloric and yet so new, hers has
been for nearly 30 years perhaps the only voice
that seems so capable of jubilation in an almost
cosmic sense. By turns mystic and amorous,
elegiac and fiery, her singing has expressed the
whole emotional scale of Arab life with haunting
intensity. Often singers give listeners
pleasure, as they expect. She often gives them,
beyond their expectation, ecstasy" Jabra Ibrahim
Jabra
•
"The voice of Fairouz knows no boundaries and is
enormously capable of rendering all singing
styles. Her voice is soon going to be
distinguished as the voice that is more capable
of rendering modern music than any other around
the world." (Fairuz's early mentor Halim El
Roumi)
•
"In the songs of Fairuz we sense an art that is
dedicated to the human being, to the pains of
the human being, and to the hopes of people for
an honorable and pleasant life." (Fouad Badawi)
•
"After Years of thirst, a voice like fresh water
has arrived. A cloud, a love letter from another
planet: Fairuz has overwhelmed us with ecstasy.
Names and figures of speech remain too small to
define her. She alone is our agency of goodwill
to which those of us looking for love and poetry
belong. When Fairouz sings, mountains and rivers
follow her voice, the mosque and the church, the
oil jars and loaves of bread. Through her, every
one of us is made to blossom, and once we were
no more than sand; men drop their weapons and
apologize. Upon hearing her voice, our childhood
is molded anew." (Prominent Syrian poet Nizar
Qabbani)
•
"The glory does not only lie in the fact that I
live in the age of Fairuz, but also that I
belong to her people. I have no country but her
voice, no family but her people and no sun but
the moon of her chanting in my heart."
(Prominent Lebanese journalist Ounsi el- Hajj)
•
"Quite simply, Fairuz is one of the world's
nonpareil musicians and outstanding Artists, an
international treasure of the order of
Rostropovich, Sills, Ravi Shankar, Miles Davis,
Sutherland, Pavarotti and Dylan." (Harvard
University scholar Barry Hoberman)[1]
•
"The voice of Fairouz is the single most
beautiful voice I have ever heard. In her voice
the Orient and the West meet and mix."
(Hungarian Opera Singer Anna Korsek)