Fairuz. (Credit: Photo archives/ L'Orient-Le Jour)
Like today, 91 years ago, you entered this world, Madame. Poor and humble, Madame, destined for the life of the invisible in a country that still does not know where it belongs. The gift bestowed upon you — a miracle, perhaps even a curse — invites me to use the familiar form with you, as one does with goddesses, who dwell within us. Addressing them, or you, formally only preserves a distance.It is imprudent to reveal a woman’s age, but what does age matter to you, who has long had both feet in eternity? You were not yet 15 when Mohammad Fleifel, searching for talent for the new National Conservatory choir he had just founded, insisted on yours. He offered you an academic training during which, for five years, you — Christian that you are — chanted verses of the Quran. In our special report Fairuz and the tragedy of the Arab world...
Like today, 91 years ago, you entered this world, Madame. Poor and humble, Madame, destined for the life of the invisible in a country that still does not know where it belongs. The gift bestowed upon you — a miracle, perhaps even a curse — invites me to use the familiar form with you, as one does with goddesses, who dwell within us. Addressing them, or you, formally only preserves a distance.It is imprudent to reveal a woman’s age, but what does age matter to you, who has long had both feet in eternity? You were not yet 15 when Mohammad Fleifel, searching for talent for the new National Conservatory choir he had just founded, insisted on yours. He offered you an academic training during which, for five years, you — Christian that you are — chanted verses of the Quran. In our special report Fairuz and the tragedy of the Arab...
