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PRESS KIT
from October 13th 2017 to January 28th 2018
Exhibition
This first exhibition at the Philharmonie de
Paris on a female artist is an invitation to
discover what it means to be a free woman—
a woman who writes, composes, and
performs—in the second half of the twentieth
century.
Barbara, the muse of the Parisian cabaret
years, got her big break when she was
discovery by the Bobino music hall, and went
on to sing on the greatest stages in Paris. An
exceptional artist, she became a legend, and
her became extraordinary gatherings, where
thunderous standing ovations were the
norm, and the audience only dispersed after
lengthy farewells.
The Barbara exhibition presents rare video
archives primarily from the Institut national
de l’audiovisuel (INA), allowing visitors to
discover the multiple facets of this
incomparable singer. Scribbled drafts
showing many rewritings, personal
correspondence, and other papers offer
precious hints as to her writing process, how
she turned her life and confidences into
timeless songs.
Barbara was the subject of many magnificent
photographs. The exhibition will present both rare and emblematic shots by a wide variety of
photographers who were able to earn her trust, immortalizing her on stage or in more intimate settings,
such as Just Jaeckin, Marcel Imsand, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Tony Frank, Jo Cayet, and Georges Dudognon.
Barbara carefully crafted her image, as her stage costumes attest. Newspapers and programmes reveal
the context of the era, and insight into how she who managed to remain mysterious even in stardom
was regarded, how she gave herself to the audience without unmasking herself.
At home, rue de Seine, around 1958
© Collection Georges Dudognon
CURATOR AND SET DESIGN
The curator Clémentine Deroudille previously co-curated the Brassens ou la liberté exhibition at the Cité
de la musique with Joann Sfar. She is also the author of the Brassens catalogue published by Dargaud
in 2011. She is an avid researcher of audio archives and has curated several exhibitions. Her recent
productions include a documentary film on her grandfather, Robert Doisneau, le révolté du merveilleux,
broadcast on Arte in 2016.
Creating a set design conveying Barbara’s poetic universe was entrusted to two prominent figures in
the field, Antoine Fontaine and Christian Marti, who had already worked together on the Brassens ou la
liberté exhibition at the Cité de la musique in 2011. Now recognised as one of the greatest set designers
in film (with directors such as Claude Berri, Daniel Auteuil, Joann Sfar, Manoel de Oliveiran, etc.),
Christian Marti began his career in stage design for singers, including Jacques Higelin and Barbara (for
Lily Passion). Antoine Fontaine has created a number of set designs for exhibitions. He became one of
the great masters of painted decor with his murals for Patrice Chéreau’s La Reine Margot and decors for
Sophia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette, and has since created numerous opera decors.
FROM MONIQUE SERF TO BARBARA
How did Monique Serf (born 9 June 1930 in
the 17th district of Paris), a poor Jewish girl
marked by war and a devastating childhood,
become the iconic artist Barbara who
continues to be remembered and adored
today?
Her autobiography Il était un piano noir,
published shortly after her death, reveals the
intimate tragedy of her childhood. The scars
of trauma and the uprootedness of
wandering from city to city offer a different
perspective on some of her lyrics. Her youth
was also marked by a vigorous desire to play
piano and sing, and the discovery of Edith
Piaf.
Following in the footsteps of her idols from
the start of the century—Yvette Guilbert,
Damia, Marie Dubas, and Marianne Oswald—
Barbara began her singing career with concert tours in Brussels, where she moved on a whim at the age
of 20. She then became a regular performer in the post-war cabarets of Paris, such as L’Écluse, a tiny 70-
seat concert hall. “L’Écluse was the first home I found. It was a place with real heart, a family that took
me into its fold. That is where I started to breathe, and where it all began.” There, Barbara became the
“midnight singer”.
These first successes brought her greater notice, and she eventually left the cabarets to sing at the
Bobino music hall. She stopped singing other people’s work (Brel, Brassens) and began writing her own
songs—compositions she called “petits zinzins,” with simple words, confidences delivered through
song, a way of giving of herself without revealing herself. Barbara wrote and recorded prodigiously,
fascinating all who heard her sing.
In the 1960s, she was swept up in endless tours throughout France. Surrounded by a small inner circle,
Barbara lived on the road, giving almost 300 performances a year. Her tours with Serge Gainsbourg,
Serge Reggiani, and Georges Moustaki also brought her abroad, to stages in Italy, Israel, Libya, etc.
Barbara at the bois de Boulogne, March 1959
© Jean-Pierre Leloir
THE ADVENTURER
At the Olympia in 1969, Barbara made the astonishing announcement not that she was leaving the
stage, but that she was ending her traditional singing career and tours. Guided by her intuitions and
friendships, she tried her hand at theatre (unsuccessfully with Madame) and cinema, with Jacques Brel
(Franz, 1972), Jean-Claude Brialy (L’Oiseau rare, 1973), and Maurice Béjart (Je suis né à Venise, 1977).
Her song “L’Aigle noir” propelled her to the status of a popular music artist, reaching a new audience
and placing her on magazine covers. But as her popularity grew, Barbara increasingly shied away from
the public eye. She imposed her artistic choices, such as the young François Wertheimer to compose
“La Louve”. She withdrew to the countryside, to her house in Précy-sur-Marne, which became her
refuge, a place where she was free and could create. This is where she conceived her shows and
composed her songs until the end of her life.
Barbara at L'Écluse, 1957
© Atelier Robert Doisneau
THE LEGEND With her 1981 concerts in the 2000-seat circus tent in Pantin, a show she had created and crafted in
Précy, Barbara was elevated to legendary status. After years of silence, her come-back was spectacular,
based on her new model for singing tours—the first "concert shows”. Her voice had changed, but her
communion with the audience was stronger than ever.
Always driven by the desire to reinvent herself, Barbara worked with Gérard Depardieu to create the
musical Lily Passion; she spent five years on the project, unperturbed by the possibility of alienating her
audience. As she avoided interviews and public appearances, her concerts became mythic: Châtelet in
1987 and 1993, Mogador in 1990…
Unbeknownst to the public, Barbara discretely joined the effort to fight AIDS, working with patients and
associations and visiting and performing in prisons. She was also politically active, campaigning for the
election of François Mitterrand in 1988 with Jacques Higelin.
Barbara recorded her last album in 1996 and died on 23 November 1997.
Barbara at Pantin, 7th September 1981 © Tony Frank
TICKETS Fervent and luminous, deeply poignant and passionate, Barbara was an artist of many facets, which are
reflected in the exhibition. The guided tour of the exhibition retraces her work and her life, painting a
nuanced portrait of a generous and liberated woman.
Imagine yourself on stage with Barbara, under the lights, in the velvet robes! With the costumes, decor,
and musical instruments, slip into the shoes of a great singer and have your moment as a diva singing a
song everyone knows. This session is followed by a short presentation of the Barbara exhibition.
Using multisensory tools, the tour guide explores the profound and vibrant universe of Barbara, a truly
singular artist who dedicated her entire life to her craft and to the stage.
Hard of hearing visitors can request a lip-reading tour with audiophones, in order to amplify the
commentary and musical excerpts.
In addition to touring the Barbara exhibition, the group creates and sings its own rendition of one of
Barbara’s songs at a musical workshop.
Barbara on stage with her musicians
© Marcel Imsand
EXHIBITION-RELATED EVENTS
In conjunction with the Barbara exhibition, the Philharmonie presents concerts organised by Alexandre
Tharaud (with Juliette Binoche, Albin de la Simone, Camélia Jordana, Radio Elvis, etc.), along with film
screenings and a variety of activities at the Museum and inside the exhibition.
11 November
Vincent Josse in discussion with Mathieu Amalric, director of the documentary Barbara,
released on 6 September, and Clémentine Deroudille, presenting the sequence she created for
the exhibition.
24 and 25 November
Performing together for the first time, Jeanne Cherhal and Bachar Mar-Khalifé offer a beautiful
tribute to Barbara with an original composition for two pianos and two voices.
23 November to 21 December
A cycle of five conferences examines the modernity of Barbara twenty years after her death.
PUBLICATIONS
This illustrated coffee-table book on Barbara does not yet exist. A brimming and luminous tribute, it is
being published in conjunction with the exhibition. The catalogue follows the exhibition’s
chronological sequence and contains all of the works compiled within it: photographs, hand-written
papers, and scores, etc. including many never-before-seen or little-known documents.
Barbara’s voice, which is a constant presence throughout the exhibition, also comes through in the
book in transcriptions of audiovisual and radio archives. Thematic sections provide historical context
and insights, e.g., on the singers from the start of the century who were inspirations for Barbara, and
the post-war cabarets of Paris.
The audiovisual documents from the INA collections found throughout the exhibition are, for the most
part, compiled in a Barbara DVD box set designed and produced by INA with the curator Clémentine
Deroudille. In addition to the audiovisual elements of the exhibition and a wealth of other documents,
this box set also includes the restored version of Gérard Vergez’s documentary, Barbara ou ma plus
belle histoire d’amour, and the unpublished documentary by director Cyril Leuthy, Barbara, chansons
pour une absente, a production delegated by INA in co-production with Arte.
Co
ver
pic
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: ©
Ju
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kin
PRESS CONTACTS
Hamid Si Amer
+ 33 (0)1 44 84 45 78
Gaëlle Kervella
+33 (0)1 44 84 89 69
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR THE USE OF ANY PRESS PICTURE
CITÉ DE LA MUSIQUE - PHILHARMONIE DE PARIS
221, AVENUE JEAN-JAURÈS
75019 PARIS
+ 33 (0)1 44 84 44 84 • PHILHARMONIEDEPARIS.FR
Barbara at the Mogador © Ariane Ruet