Brel - Rêver un impossible rêve

Back cover

Jacques Brel passed away at the age of 49, thirty-five years ago now! Yet one could say he lived as long as a centenarian, for, driven by the vital breath of creativity, he worked day and night to nurture his ‘impossible dream’. By turns a singer-songwriter, actor, director, pilot and sailor, he was so determined not to succumb to mere technical skill or deception that he abandoned each field he explored just as he had mastered it to perfection. Endowed with an unrivalled theatrical presence, ready to outshine the rockers of the sixties, he raised the song to the height of its power in five years (from 1961 to 1966). His poetic, timeless and irreverent body of work, covered all over the world, brings together amorous pleas, satirical sketches and twilight scenes. On the big screen, Brel proved himself an actor of the highest calibre through his ability to embody—with equal ease and naturalness—conventional characters, rebellious libertines or zany suicidal figures. As a director, he broke free from conventional moulds by creating *Franz*, a film in the form of a long poem, performed as a duet with his soulmate: Barbara. Bringing together his various facets as an author, singer, actor and adventurer, his musical show, *L’homme de la Mandia*, represents the quintessence of his art and its most faithful reflection.

Artist 1

• Jacques Brel 1929 – 1978 · Belgium

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first!