Mays al-Rim. Opérette libanaise. Auteurs-compositeurs : les frères Rahbani, vedette : Fairouz

Like many Near Eastern people, I grew up dreaming of peace and dignity, conveyed by the voice of the Lebanese diva Fairuz singing the Rahbani Brothers’ masterpieces, challenging weapons, enmity and war, claiming justice, peace and love. A long time has passed since I left Lebanon, carrying away with me a dreamed homeland, hardly recognizable nowadays, a treasure I have jealously guarded thanks to our theatrical and musical heritage. In that heritage, East meets West, claiming respect for Lebanese identity, popular traditions and folktales, music and dances, sung dialogues and genuine linguistic expressions. In that heritage, the oppressed defeat their oppressors and love transcends all boundaries. While the Rahbani Brothers’ theatre was conceived and performed in colloquial Lebanese, most of the research on the topic carried out so far is in Arabic and their works have become vulnerable to misrepresentations by Western scholars. For all these reasons, I decided to venture into illustrating and partially translating their plays. The operetta that I present here is a Rahbanian Romeo and Juliet that joyfully overturns the destiny of two lovers suffering as a consequence of the never ending arguments between their families.