Joseph Azar ( ar, جوزيف عازار) (born 1942) is a Lebanese artist, solo singer, and performer in Lebanese musical comedies and theatre.

Beginnings

Azar was born in the town of

Jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a town in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3 ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. He was the youngest of four sons and attended elementary school in his hometown. He began singing at a very young age, influenced by his father and was characterized by his strong traditional voice, which he developed as a Psalmist in a church choir. At the end of 1958, Azar moved to Beirut where he received musical courses at the National Conservatory, which was run by renowned lute player Farid Ghosn.

Career

Joseph Azar began his career in 1961 with the

Rahbani Brothers The Rahbani brothers (Arabic: الأخوان رحباني), Assi Rahbani (4 May 1923 – 21 June 1986) and Mansour Rahbani (1925 – 13 January 2009) were Lebanese sibling musicians, composers, songwriters, authors, and playwrights/dramatists, bes ...

and

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie' Haddad ( ar, نهاد وديع حداد, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz ( ar, فيروز, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists a ...

in the play ''Al Baal-bakiye'' then repeated the experiment in several plays, including: ''Jisir El Amar'' (1962), ''Hollo'' (1963) and he played the role of Rajeh in the musical play ''Bayaa El Khawatem''. He was assigned the starring role next to the star

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

in the musical ''El Challal'' directed by

Romeo Lahoud Romeo Raphael Lahoud ( ar, روميو روفايل لحود; 22 January 1931 – 22 November 2022) was a Lebanese theatre director, composer, and author. Biography After studying at the Saint Joseph School, Lahoud began his career in 1955 as an ...

and composed by

Walid Gholmieh Walid Georges Gholmieh ( ar, وليد جرجس غلمية; 1938 – 7 June 2011) was the director of the '' Le Conservatoire libanais national supérieur de musique'' or The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music. He was considered one of ...

. In the years 1965, 1966 and 1967, Joseph Azar played the main role in three consecutive works with Sabah and Nadia Jamal which were entitled: ''Mawwal'', ''Mijjana'' and ''Attaba'' composed by

Zaki Nassif Zaki Nassif ( ar, زكي ناصيف; 4 July 1918 – 10 March 2004) was a Lebanese music composer and singer. He was influential among the first generation of composers for the mass audience for music on radio in Lebanon in the 1940s and 1950s, ...

, Walid Gholmieh and Romeo Lahhoud. He played the role of the Prince Badr in the play ''El Qalaa'' (1968) with Sabah. It was composed by Walid Gholmieh and directed by Romeo Lahoud. In 1971, Joseph Azar played the role of the Russian ambassador in the play ''Phoenicia 80'' and in the summer same year, he starred in the

Byblos International Festival The Byblos International Festival is a Lebanese festival held in Byblos, believed to be the first Phoenician city, founded around 5000 BC. The festival is the biggest in Lebanon, and attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. History ...

with the Anwar troupe (Ferkat al Anwar), in the play ''Ya Leil'' in conjunction with

Duraid Lahham Duraid Lahham ( ar, دريد لحام; in Roman transliteration, sometimes spelled "Durayd Lahham") is a leading Syrian comedian and director born 1934 in Damascus, Syria. He is famous for acting the role of "Ghawwar El Toshe" in a number of movie ...

, Fadwa Obeid and Nadia Jamal. The poems were written by George Jerdaq and the music was composed by Walid Gholmieh and the play directed by Munir Mouasseri. In 1999, he collaborated with Caracalla dance group in the plays ''Laylat Qamar'' and ''Alf Layle w Layle'' that were played at the

Baalbeck International Festival The Baalbeck International Festival ( ar, مهرجانات بعلبك الدولية, french: Festival International de Baalbeck) is a cultural event in Lebanon. Since 1955, people from around the world have gone to the city of Baalbek in the Beqaa ...

. The play ''Alf Layle w Layle'' was played in 2002 on the major international theaters including the

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

in Montreal, Canada, Opera House in Frankfurt, Germany and the National Theatre in Beijing under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azar, Joseph 1942 births Lebanese actors 20th-century Lebanese male singers Living people