The Lebanese singer Sabah, who has died at the age of 87, was one of the great divas of the Arab world. She appeared in more than 80 films and recorded around 3,000 songs, specialising in mawwal, a genre of traditional Arabic music popular in Egypt. Her profile extended beyond the Arab world, however: she played at Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, London’s Piccadilly Theatre and the Sydney Opera House. Famed for her extravagant and revealing costumes and multiple marriages, she appealed to a wide public regardless of religion or ethnic background.
Sabah largely steered clear of politics, but the peak of her fame coincided with President Nasser and the rise of pan-Arabism in the 1950s and 60s. Today, in the midst of revolution and chaos, she is associated with that more forward-looking and carefree time. She later endeared herself to her compatriots by singing at weddings in Lebanon during the civil war of 1975-90.
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