Elias Rahbani responds to press accusations
Today (Tuesday 25, August 1998), in a interview with Elias Rahbani in 'Alhayat' daily newspaper, he tried to answer the press accusations mainly about the playback controversy.
Some of the main things he said:
When asked if they could have not used the playback, at least in the new songs, he said that it is not technically possible. He also said that in respect to the audience they brought a lot of equipment on stage as well as a full orchestra which cost them about 60 thousand dollars. It was not possible for Fairouz to sing live because performing such a work that consists of parts from three different musical plays couldn't have been made otherwise. The technicality can not be simplified. Despite what's being said, Assy Rahbani is the one who kept on using the playback method. With all of that, Fairuz sang rising her voice so much in the first evening that her vocal chords went sore. When Elias asked her to take it lightly on the next night, she told him "I can't, where is my truth with my fans?". He also said that all of Ziad's plays are played in playback and that he knew, beforehand, that they were going to use the method in Baalbeck98. He also said that he doesn't know why Ziad quit from the festival.

For more including questions about his new song, Baalbeck's presentation and his other work, read the rest of the long interview from Alhayat, page 18 - Issue 12957 - Tuesday 25 August 1998.