Probably the greatest Arabic singer of modern times, Fairuz (neé Nuhad Haddad; born 1933), also known as Fayrouz, led the creation of a new musical language in the Middle East.

Fairuz was born Nuhad Haddad in 1933 in Beirut, Lebanon. She was raised in humble surroundings in the old neighborhood of Zukak el Blat in Beirut, where her father, Wadi Haddad, was a simple typesetter in a small print shop. Nuhad attended the Saint Joseph School for Girls in Beirut until the hardships of World War II forced her father to move her to a public school.

In 1947, at age 14, she was discovered by Mohammad Fleifel, one of the founders of the National Conservatory of Music in Beirut, who was in search of talent for a newly formed choral group. Fleifel was instrumental in Fairuz's admission to the National Conservatory, where she spent five years training. But perhaps his...