Prominent Lebanese Fairouz kicked off her US tour around the United States of America on October 11, 2003, that so far has witnessed tremendous success. Thousands flocked to ticket centers to be part of what has been described by many as a once in a lifetime opportunity. The amount of people that have so far attended Fairouz’s concerts expressed that watching the legendary singer was more like a dream that they wished to keep reliving.
According to the London based Elaph, it was revealed that the tickets for the remaining concerts to be held by Fairouz are already sold out and those wishing to attend have to search carefully in black markets. Fairouz had received the invitation from producer Yousif Harb to go on the tour around the US, marking her first in the past 20 years. It has been revealed that an orchestra of 40 musicians has accompanied Fairouz.
The tour is sponsored by the Canadian company Planet of Performers and has achieved enormous success so far due to the fact that the singer enjoys lots of popularity among the Arabs living around the US and people of other nationalities.
Egyptian artists have expressed their disappointment at the fact that prominent Lebanese singer Fairouz is holding a tour around the United States of America; despite the fact that it is the country that is ruthlessly occupying Iraq. It was revealed that admirers of Fairouz in Egypt were in shock when they learned of the tour and questioned how could she want to sing in a country that supports Israel and has caused so much suffering to the Iraqi people.
Egyptian director Hisham Abu El Nasr, who stresses his anti-Israeli stance in most of his films, stated that it is inappropriate for the prominent singer, who has sung songs in favor of Palestine and the Palestinian crisis, to sing in a country that is acting in the same manner towards Arab as Israel. Nasr added that the excuse used by singer to want to sing for the Arabs living in the US is no longer a valid reason, and that any cooperation with the US at the current time only shows lack of support to the entire Arab nation and its principles.
Other artists expressed that any form of relationship with the US or Israel is mere negligence of the Arab unity and that all Arab singers should take a unifying stance and embargo everything American and Israeli. More criticism was made regarding Fairouz’s trip, which is seen as falling in the trap created by the US to give an image of Americans being peace seekers.
Born and educated in Beirut, Fairouz began her musical career as a chorus member at the Lebanese Radio Station. In the late 1950s her talent as a singer became fully acknowledged due to her unprecedented enthusiasm and vocal superiority. Fairouz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. –Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
