Zürcher Nachrichten - Fairuz, musical icon of war-torn Lebanon, turns 90

EUR -
AED 3.821057
AFN 73.006821
ALL 98.512217
AMD 415.678797
ANG 1.873062
AOA 948.764769
ARS 1069.072052
AUD 1.649931
AWG 1.872562
AZN 1.770572
BAM 1.955447
BBD 2.098421
BDT 124.19758
BGN 1.956839
BHD 0.392129
BIF 3072.506989
BMD 1.040312
BND 1.411906
BOB 7.181704
BRL 6.505282
BSD 1.039312
BTN 88.499776
BWP 14.434394
BYN 3.401186
BYR 20390.119174
BZD 2.091322
CAD 1.49394
CDF 2985.696084
CHF 0.935655
CLF 0.037305
CLP 1029.367761
CNY 7.592096
CNH 7.600745
COP 4550.231947
CRC 527.704739
CUC 1.040312
CUP 27.568273
CVE 110.282725
CZK 25.128844
DJF 185.07659
DKK 7.463155
DOP 63.308572
DZD 140.574623
EGP 52.912125
ERN 15.604683
ETB 132.329112
FJD 2.41212
FKP 0.823909
GBP 0.828868
GEL 2.923205
GGP 0.823909
GHS 15.283044
GIP 0.823909
GMD 74.902906
GNF 8982.3785
GTQ 8.008518
GYD 217.440748
HKD 8.07922
HNL 26.406233
HRK 7.462062
HTG 135.862824
HUF 411.523555
IDR 16866.581743
ILS 3.79457
IMP 0.823909
INR 88.831167
IQD 1361.45423
IRR 43784.131855
ISK 145.175469
JEP 0.823909
JMD 161.930768
JOD 0.737895
JPY 163.687937
KES 134.324804
KGS 90.506913
KHR 4176.242501
KMF 484.915563
KPW 936.280401
KRW 1516.624314
KWD 0.320604
KYD 0.866144
KZT 538.412806
LAK 22728.896977
LBP 93069.29912
LKR 306.304706
LRD 189.22587
LSL 19.325111
LTL 3.071771
LVL 0.629274
LYD 5.102079
MAD 10.480808
MDL 19.175538
MGA 4902.11507
MKD 61.518895
MMK 3378.893454
MNT 3534.98073
MOP 8.314299
MRU 41.48851
MUR 48.96761
MVR 16.02902
MWK 1802.174671
MXN 20.97774
MYR 4.667854
MZN 66.479829
NAD 19.325111
NGN 1603.786908
NIO 38.243096
NOK 11.804528
NPR 141.547448
NZD 1.842566
OMR 0.400258
PAB 1.039312
PEN 3.870101
PGK 4.218239
PHP 60.909762
PKR 289.341068
PLN 4.260908
PYG 8105.536788
QAR 3.781353
RON 4.977166
RSD 116.947785
RUB 103.957734
RWF 1449.838275
SAR 3.906518
SBD 8.721515
SCR 14.841021
SDG 625.744421
SEK 11.551938
SGD 1.413264
SHP 0.823909
SLE 23.721347
SLL 21814.829886
SOS 593.992772
SRD 36.471239
STD 21532.362215
SVC 9.094358
SYP 2613.815872
SZL 19.33351
THB 35.547799
TJS 11.374265
TMT 3.651496
TND 3.31516
TOP 2.436519
TRY 36.73036
TTD 7.062725
TWD 34.010202
TZS 2517.555813
UAH 43.577933
UGX 3804.313245
USD 1.040312
UYU 46.277438
UZS 13417.577857
VES 53.654247
VND 26444.736193
VUV 123.507948
WST 2.874162
XAF 655.838608
XAG 0.035157
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.811496
XDR 0.796856
XOF 655.838608
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.468147
ZAR 19.379149
ZMK 9364.060487
ZMW 28.762808
ZWL 334.980105
  • SCS

    0.0800

    11.73

    +0.68%

  • NGG

    -0.1600

    58.86

    -0.27%

  • BCC

    0.9500

    123.19

    +0.77%

  • GSK

    -0.0300

    34.03

    -0.09%

  • AZN

    -0.3300

    66.3

    -0.5%

  • RIO

    -0.0300

    59.2

    -0.05%

  • BTI

    0.0400

    36.26

    +0.11%

  • BP

    0.0400

    28.79

    +0.14%

  • CMSC

    -0.1321

    23.77

    -0.56%

  • BCE

    0.0600

    22.9

    +0.26%

  • CMSD

    0.1000

    23.65

    +0.42%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.24

    -0.14%

  • RELX

    0.3000

    45.89

    +0.65%

  • RBGPF

    59.8000

    59.8

    +100%

  • VOD

    0.0600

    8.43

    +0.71%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    12.15

    +0.41%

Fairuz, musical icon of war-torn Lebanon, turns 90
Fairuz, musical icon of war-torn Lebanon, turns 90 / Photo: Joseph EID - AFP

Fairuz, musical icon of war-torn Lebanon, turns 90

Legendary Arab singer Fairuz, whose ballads have told of love, her native Lebanon and the Palestinian cause, turned 90 on Thursday as her conflict-weary country is wracked by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Text size:

Social media users lit up the internet with her songs and tributes to the Lebanese star, who has seldom been seen in public in recent years but remains a rare symbol of national unity in the crisis-hit country.

In one for her most well-known songs, which came out during Lebanon's civil war, Fairuz crooned: "I love you, oh Lebanon, my country, I love you."

In a post on Instagram, French President Emmanuel Macron said Fairuz "embodies the soul of this region with dignity".

She "watches over the hearts of many Palestinians and Lebanese who are deprived of the peace they deserve", Macron said.

Composer and oud player Marcel Khalife, in a tribute on social media platform X, wrote: "My homeland is Fairuz's voice."

Born Nouhad Haddad in 1934 to a working-class Christian family in Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat district, Fairuz -- a stage name that means "turquoise" in Arabic -- studied at the national music conservatory as a teenager.

She shot to fame after her first performance at the Baalbek International Festival in 1957.

On Monday, Zuqaq al-Blat was the target of a deadly Israeli strike, while Baalbek's ancient ruins, where the music festival is still held annually, were granted "provisional enhanced protection" by UNESCO amid the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Fairuz, her composer husband Assi Rahbani and his brother Mansour revolutionised traditional Arabic music by merging classical Western, Russian and Latin elements with eastern rhythms and a modern orchestra.

Fairuz worked closely with her eldest son Ziad, known as the "enfant terrible" of the Lebanese stage and song, who composed Arabic music for her with a jazz influence.

Fairuz's reign as the queen of Arabic music was partly thanks to her championing the Palestinian cause, including "Sanarjaou Yawman" or "We Shall Return One Day", an elegy to Palestinians exiled by the creation of Israel in 1948.

She won national acclaim for remaining in Lebanon throughout the country's 1975-1990 civil war, and for refusing to side with one faction over another.

In 2020, France's Macron kicked off a trip to Lebanon by calling on Fairuz, awarding her France's Legion of Honour.

It was a rare public appearance for the ageing star that delighted the country, which at the time was reeling from a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port.

D.Smith--NZN