Fairuz

Fairuz, born Nouhad Wadie Haddad, is a Lebanese singer and stage actress, Lebanon's most revered voice and one of the best-selling recording artists in Arab history. ¹ With the Rahbani Brothers she shaped a new Lebanese song, and through Lebanon's civil war she became a symbol of the country's unity. ^{1 2} Fairuz is a Christian; she is included in this museum as a towering figure of the modern Arab and Muslim world, not as a Muslim, and her own religion is stated plainly in this record. ^{1 2}

She was born in Beirut, where her family lived in the Zuqaq al-Blat quarter. ^{1 3} Her father Wadie was an Assyrian from Mardin who had fled the Sayfo, the massacres of Assyrians, and worked as a typesetter; her mother Lisa al-Boustani was a Maronite Christian from Dibbiyeh. ¹ The English article describes the family she was born into as a Syriac Orthodox and Maronite Christian family. ¹ Her birth date is uncertain: Britannica gives "November 20, 1934?" with a researcher's note, the English article gives "20 November 1934 or 21 November 1935", and the Arabic article and Wikidata give 21 November 1935. ^{2 1 4 3} The 1934 date is followed in her data record. ² The Arabic article says she was born in the Shouf district, where the English article and Britannica place her birth in Beirut. ^{4 2}

The composer Mohammed Flayfel heard her and brought her to the conservatory in 1950. ¹ Halim el Roumi, the head of Lebanese radio, hired her as a chorus singer and gave her the stage name Fairuz. ¹ Her first major hit was "Itab" in 1952, written by Assi Rahbani. ¹

From 1957 she starred at the Baalbeck International Festival, and President Camille Chamoun honoured her with the "Cavalier" distinction. ¹ With Assi and Mansour Rahbani, the Rahbani Brothers, she created a short Lebanese-dialect song quite unlike the long Egyptian form then dominant, and a body of musical theatre rooted in Lebanese village life. ¹ The English article puts her output at some 1,500 songs, more than 80 albums and 20 musicals, with more than 150 million records sold; these are the article's figures, recorded as such. ¹

She married Assi Rahbani on 23 January 1955; Britannica gives the marriage year as 1954, and Wikidata dates the marriage from 1955. ^{1 2 3} On her marriage she converted to Greek Orthodoxy, the church of her husband. ¹ The Arabic article likewise records her Syriac Orthodox family, her Maronite mother, and her adoption of the Eastern Orthodox church on marriage. ⁴ Britannica states her position in one sentence: "Although Christian (Greek Orthodox) and Lebanese, her songs were adopted by all sides in the Civil War". ² Her children include the composer Ziad Rahbani (1956–2025), Hali, Layal, who died in 1988, and Rima. ¹

She remained in Lebanon throughout the civil war of 1975–1990 and refused to take sides. ¹ In 1978 she performed the musical Petra in both halves of divided Beirut, an appearance read by many Lebanese as a plea for the country's unity. ¹

Her artistic partnership with the Rahbani Brothers ended in 1979, and she worked increasingly with her son Ziad Rahbani. ¹ In 1994 she gave a comeback concert in Martyrs' Square in a Beirut still rebuilding from the war. ¹ Her 2008 appearance at the Damascus Opera House drew criticism from Lebanese who opposed the Syrian role in Lebanon, a controversy the English article reports with its opposing voices. ¹ She released the albums Eh Fi Amal in 2010 and Bebalee in 2017. ¹

On 31 August 2020 President Emmanuel Macron of France visited her at her home, an honour that underlined her standing as a Lebanese national symbol. ¹ In July 2025 she made a rare public appearance at the funeral of her son Ziad. ¹

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