SOUND OFF Special Interview: Sylvie Vartan

Today we are talking to an international recording superstar who ushered in the new era of rock and roll with her songs and performance style in France in the early 1960s and created an unparalleled entertainment legacy reaching its apotheosis in 2010 with the release of her finest album to date, SOLEIL BLEU - the one and only celebrated chanteuse herself, Sylvie Vartan. Predominantly performing material from this stupendous recent album as well as from her vaunted back catalogue, Vartan will take the stage of Feinstein's At The Regency for two nights next week - Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27, both at 8:30 PM. Be sure to take a listen to SOLEIL BLEU if you have not heard it and if you cannot manage to score a ticket to either of Sylvie's sold-out shows at Feinstein‘s, well... c'est la vie! In this career-spanning conversation we touch on working extensively with everyone from The Beatles to Carla Bruni to Charles Aznavour to what's next for her and much, much more!

Playing to a gigantic arena for a three-week engagement sharing the stage with The Beatles themselves was Sylvie Vartan's entrée into the entertainment industry - and what an introduction! Bringing a sexy, swingin' style and hip dance moves to go along with her funky, rock n roll swagger and smoky vocals, Vartan virtually created the modern day pop/rock diva in the later mold of Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar and many of the great lady rock icons we have known since. Through countless stage shows, concert spectaculars, albums, films, television appearances and magazine cover stories, Vartan has firmly established herself as one of the foremost women in the French entertainment realm. Case in point: the First Lady of France herself, Carla Bruni, even contributed songs to Sylvie's newest album, the career-defining SOLEIL BLEU. Tacking on all of these topics as well as many more - most importantly: what we can expect to hear from her at Feinstein's next week and the charity closest to her heart - Vartan and I shed some light on her impossibly accomplished and fascinating career - such as selling 40 million records, committing 1200+ songs to record and giving more than 2500 onstage performances in her five-decade-spanning career - and, we also take a look ahead to her very bright future.

Further information and tickets to Sylvie Vartan At Feinstein's can be found here.

Elle Chante le BLEU(s)

PC: Charles Aznavour is such a theatrical writer and you do so well with his material.

SV: Oh, Aznavour; yes - thank you so much.

PC: Liza Minnelli has done a lot of his material over the years, as well.

SV: (Laughs.) That's so funny you mention Liza because I just heard that she is in Paris right now, actually!

PC: I think you are right! And you happen to be in LA!

SV: Yes! How strange. (Laughs.)

PC: What do you think of Liza Minnelli, who has also done this column?

SV: I think she is such a talented person - to say the very least. You know, over the years, she has shown her talent many times - she is a complete artist. She is a dancer and a singer and a performer - which is really great. She has it all.

PC: You both have a bit of a Marlene Dietrich-ness about your performances as well. Is that intentional?

SV: Marlene Dietrich? Oh, no - that's not intentional. (Laughs.) But, the low voice - yes, I know what you mean. The low range. Many people have mentioned that to me, though. I do have some German ancestors so...

PC: Have you ever sung any Kurt Weill?

SV: No - never.

PC: Not even THREEPENNY OPERA or "Mack The Knife"?

SV: Well, you have to remember that I started out singing rock and roll, to be honest...

PC: You were the first female artist to make a big impression singing that music in France.

SV: That's right. Exactly. So, you know, that was my music for a long time and, then, I started dancing in New York and taking classes when I was very young.

PC: Oh, really? That's where you honed your performance skills?

SV: Yes. I worked in this studio on Broadway. I brought this teacher/choreographer who I worked with there to Paris with me and I asked him to choreograph one of my very first shows, with dancers, at the Olympia, and we had a great success. You see, nobody was really using dancers in those days - especially with pop or rock music. Those movements were so great and new and exciting.

PC: The birth of a whole new era of entertainment - and music. And culture.

SV: Yes, I mean, in France, dancing was basically classical or contemporary [until then] - but, it was nothing compared to what Jojo Smith did in that first show of mine. He sort of invented that rock style and made it popular in France. So, for the next thirty years I've been doing these huge shows with dancers on big stages and in sports arenas all around the world. It makes me really happy.

PC: And, now, New York!

SV: Yes! I have to admit, going to New York, I like the idea of being close to the audience and in this kind of a club - Feinstein's has presented many of the most talented and classic artists of Broadway and beyond.

PC: You can say that again! Are you familiar with Michael Feinstein's work himself?

SV: To be honest, I am not familiar enough - I have to find out more. I am so curious and everyone speaks so highly of him. He's a great artist, I know that much.

PC: Michael Feinstein is known as the walking encyclopedia of the Great American Songbook, as he demonstrated to me when he did this column.

SV: Isn't it incredible that people like that exist and they can be so knowledgeable about their passion? It's so great.

PC: What are some of your favorite songs from the American Songbook? Cole Porter? George Gershwin? Irving Berlin?

SV: Oh, I love Gershwin a lot. Yeah.

PC: What have been some of your favorites from that canon to sing over the years?

SV: Well, when I sang in Vegas recently we did a medley with a bunch of classic American songs - we did "Smile", too. It was a medley with all "smile" songs. In that, we did Jacques Brel of course, too...

PC: Can we look forward to some Brel at Feinstein's next week?

SV: Oh, yes, you can definitely look forward to some Brel. I will be doing my favorite, "Refusement"...

PC: Please say "Ne Me Quitte Pas" is on the list!

SV: Yes! I will certainly be doing "Ne Me Quitte Pas"!

PC: That's my absolute favorite Brel song. Barbra Streisand's version is so incredible on her most recent album - especially the jazz quartet version.

SV: Oh, well, she's just a fantastic singer. I love Barbra Streisand.

PC: Speaking of classic acts, what was it like performing onstage with The Beatles?

SV: (Laughs.) Well, you have to remember that we were all very, very young!

PC: Of course!

SV: They were at the beginning of their careers - they were practically unknown in France.

PC: How did the concert event you did together come about in the first place?

SV: Well, they had had a big break in England, of course, and that's why they were hired to do represent the number one top English act at this concert. The director of the Olympia wanted to have one French number one, one English number one and one American number one.

PC: So, who was which?

SV: The American number one was Tweeny Lopez, who had a huge hit with "If I Had A Hammer". It was a worldwide hit.

PC: And it is still done on AMERICAN IDOL to this day!

SV: (Laughs.) Yes, of course. So, he was the American singer and I was the French one - and the only girl! And, of course, the Beatles were the English one. So, we played for three weeks, actually.

PC: Wow! That's a long gig.

SV: Yes, it was quite unusual - and, it is also strange that there is no audio or video of that concert. That concert became a cult concert - everyone was talking about it. You know, it was the first time the Beatles made an impact in France.

PC: It was a very big deal.

SV: Yeah, and right after that they went to America, where they were huge already. The rest I'm sure you know! (Laughs.)

PC: You were right on the cusp of history. How amazing. Did you know it or sense it at the time?

SV: Yes and no; it was a really fun experience - but, we were so very young! We just had fun. They always wanted to take photos of the Beatles with me, so there are many, many photos of them with me backstage. (Laughs.) We got kind of tired of doing the same photos over and over again together because, you know, I was the only girl!

PC: That's so funny.

SV: We used to go dancing in the clubs a lot. And, in those days, discos were very popular and their music [the Beatles] was all over the place - like it was in New York and everywhere else. It was a really fun time.

PC: How do you place that experience in your career, looking back?

SV: Well, since then, everyone's been talking about that concert, but, to be honest, we didn't really feel like we were doing anything exceptional at the time, you know? (Laughs.)

PC: What did you think of their music the first time you heard it?

SV: Oh, I loved it! I absolutely loved it.

PC: What was the first Beatles song you remember hearing?

SV: It was "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". (Sings.) "When you, tell me something..."

PC: Of course!

SV: Yeah, yeah. They were just great - shaking that hair! But, when you first saw them, they looked very First Communion; just boys - but, then, suddenly, they looked very hip and very, very new and original. And sleek. They weren't boys anymore! (Laughs.) It was terrific.

PC: What are your favorite Beatles songs to sing?

SV: Oh, I love "Imagine". "Ebony and Ivory" - even though that is later. I've sung "Get Back". I love all their albums, though. You can't stop naming all the songs you love. Those are the ones I've sung, though - the ones I remember.

PC: You've sung and recorded over a thousand songs at this point so it must be hard to keep track of them all.

SV: Yes, about 1200. (Laughs.) It's amazing.

PC: That's for sure! What an accomplishment.

SV: I started very young! (Laughs.)

PC: I am particularly struck by the fact that this year you and Stevie Nicks both have released your best albums ever, later in your careers - your SOLEIL BLEU and her IN YOUR DREAMS.

SV: Oh, I am a big fan of hers. I love Stevie Nicks. I have to get her new release!

PC: What was it like putting together SOLEIL BLEU?

SV: You know, I had a chance to meet with Karin Ann. She plays in New York in the Village sometimes and she is a great musician and a great gal. We had a real connection on the music and so far as each other as human beings - we clicked.

PC: So, it was a great collaboration right from the start?

SV: Oh, yes. She works with a lyricist named Doriann. They wrote four of the songs. Karin arranged and produced the whole album. She is very meticulous and her way of working completely agrees with the way I work. And, it was also pure luck at the same time - you know, sometimes you work with people and sometimes the connection doesn't last all the way through, but this time it was really perfect. So, we wanted it to continue - we didn't want the project to end.

PC: So you still stay in touch?

SV: We have a real friendship and I think she is very, very talented and I am very happy that we got a chance to be on the same album and do all the songs together. We all know that when we record twelve or fifteen songs that, usually, there are always one or two that are better than the others. The others are what we refer to as "album cuts" - I hate that!

PC: You believe in consistently strong material; demand it?

SV: I always aim to do every song as a single. With this album, of the twelve songs, I really love eleven of them as singles. Really.

PC: I'm sure you won't tell me which isn't the single, then!

SV: I'm sure you can guess! (Laughs.) I take so much pleasure in SOLEIL BLEU, though. It's great new material. The arrangements are very original and new without being ostentatious. It's classy and tasteful - just like I like!

PC: What was it like working with France's First Lady, Carla Bruni?

SV: She's terrific. She's a great lady. She has a natural sophistication and she has been brought up very well, obviously. Musically, she is very talented as well. When she released her first album she was not the president's wife and she had decided to leave the photo/model world and concentrate on singing. That's when we first met. I loved that first album.

PC: It was quite a first accomplishment - particularly for a model.

SV: I especially loved the lyrics - they were very, very emotional and deep and well-written.

PC: I totally agree. "Your love is like heroin." How did she come to write a song for SOLEIL BLEU?

SV: I asked her to write me a song back then and we sort of just left it like that. So, after awhile - like, two years ago - when I finally wanted to do the album, I called her up and I said, "Listen, you owe me one!" (Laughs.)

PC: That's hilarious - saying that to the First Lady, no less!

SV: (Laughs.) So, she wrote this song for this album and I really enjoyed working with her. She's very sweet and pleasant and very well-mannered.

PC: Have you seen her in Woody Allen's MIDNIGHT IN PARIS yet?

SV: No, not yet! They're not playing it in LA anymore, I don't think.

PC: Will you be doing any French or European television appearances coming up we can look forward to on YouTube?

SV: I am going to be in concert in one of the most famous places in Paris, called the Chetalay. It looks like La Scala in Milan - you know, it's a very beautiful old theatre. Very classy.

PC: Just like you like!

SV: I will be doing three shows there at the end of September and beginning of October. I guess it's going to be my fiftieth year onstage and we are going to plan a kind of celebration for that.

PC: Congratulations! How wonderful - for you and your fans!

SV: I just signed with new promoters, LiveNation, and they are just great. So, I am so happy to be with them, especially since I am the only French artist they have.

PC: That's a huge deal.

SV: So, yes, we will be doing a series of concerts with the Bulgarian Philharmonic Orchestra - that's going to be a very exciting project. We are touring all the capitols - Moscow, London, Prague, and more, hopefully.

PC: What will you be singing? Will it be a SOLEIL BLEU-centric song list?

SV: Yes, but not only that, of course. We are working on the show right now and it will take a while to put together.

PC: What an exciting project.

SV: The most exciting thing for me is that I will be performing with the Bulgarian Philharmonic Orchestra - I was born in Bulgaria, so to have those voices behind me is very meaningful for me; moreso than a big band or a regular orchestra. If you've ever heard those Bulgarian voices...

PC: The greatest choruses in the world.

SV: Absolutely. And, I am very excited to sing a few of the songs with them for the first time. It will just be great.

PC: Could you tell me a little bit about your charity, The Sylvie Vartan Association?

SV: Yes. You see, I left Bulgaria when I was seven, right when the Iron Curtain was at its worst.

PC: It was bad.

SV: Very bad. No one was leaving and we were the only ones leaving, I guess. Ever since then, when we got to France, I didn't want to go back there ever again; I was against the regime and I didn't want to go back. And, anyway, my songs were forbidden there and banned.

PC: Wow.

SV: So, when the Berlin Wall fell, I went the next year. I gave one concert that was more than a concert - it was like a happening. It was very emotional. It was like going back in time... my brother and my family were there with me. Everyone was crying. It was so emotional and it was something to really, really remember forever.

PC: So, you are glad you went back if only to inspire you to activism and starting this charity?

SV: Well, the country was in such disarray and everyone was so poor; the hospitals, the homeless kids - it was terrible. But, there was still hope - the Wall had fallen and you could feel the hope and the drive of the people. It was amazing - the strength and the force moving them forward - they were full of hope even if there was nothing to eat and the stores were empty; their souls were full. It was really incredible.

PC: What a powerful story.

SV: My brother and I decided to help and create a charity for the kids there - that's how it all started. And, ever since then, we have been doing great things. Usually, because my charity is small, it is a little difficult to make people sensitive to Bulgarian kids, you know? So, our association is now more than twenty years old and we target our donations to providing medical equipment to communities and orphanages because then they cannot be stolen or resold. My good friend is the Vice President and everyone who helps us does it with their heart and they are so dedicated. It is terrific. It is very rewarding to think we can save even a few lives.

PC: What a way to give back to your home country, despite everything, as well.

SV: Well, to whom much is given, much more is expected, you know? (Laughs.)

PC: Indeed.

SV: I just had to do it.

PC: So, what songs can we look forward to at Feinstein's next week? A little Brel, a little Aznavour...

SV: Yeah, a little Brel and a song that Charles wrote that I love. Charles wrote a song for me and that is the one I am going to do as well, and then I will do another song of his that I also love - "Yesterday, When I Was Young".

PC: Have you ever sung "What Makes A Man A Man"?

SV: Oh, yes! (Sighs.) That is such a beautiful song in French. It's called "Comme idees".

PC: Liza sings it at her shows sometimes - Fred Ebb wrote the American lyrics.

SV: I am going to look for that! I am very interested, because in French the lyrics are so, so powerful!

PC: What do you think of translation in general, especially in regards to Franco-American ones like with Brel and Aznavour.

SV: You know, the thing is when you are bilingual: the translations never make it. Even if they are the best in the world - like Brel was very well-translated, I have to say...

PC: As in Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS....

SV: Yes, but, always, the real power comes from the original - and, vice versa.

PC: I agree completely.

SV: No matter what - a little level higher is the original. Brel has been so beautifully translated, though, I have to say.

PC: Like "Ne Me Quitte Pas" - but, even then, you can't top the French lyrics.

SV: (Sighs.) That song is so... heart-tearing! It's really amazing. I mean, all these songs we are talking about are so powerful.

PC: What do you think of Michel Legrand?

SV: Oh, I think he has written great songs. I have sung some of Michel's over the years - I've sung "The Windmills Of My Mind". I recorded that song with a band and I really love it.

PC: What do you think of his music in general?

SV: Well, he hasn't really written anything lately that I know of that was as powerful as those songs from the sixties.

PC: His musical AMOUR had some beautiful melodies.

SV: Yes, he writes very, very beautiful themes.

PC: Could you define collaboration in terms of your best experiences performing over the years? You've seen it all.

SV: As I've said over the years, my best collaborations are with the choreographers. As we were talking about earlier, I really spend a lot of time with them and think a lot about how I want to build my shows. Over the years, I've had huge shows with fifteen dancers and all that and those would take me five, six weeks to rehearse. I would usually rehearse in LA with my dancers and choreographers, so I settled in and started living in LA on a regular basis because I was changing my show every two years! (Laughs.)

PC: You're either rehearsing or on tour, right?

SV: Right. So, I've always had a good vibe with my choreographers and my dancers - I really like that world.

PC: It's like a theatre troupe.

SV: Yeah - it's a family. It's a wonderful business and you just take off - like in a dream land. It's fantastic to be a singer or an actress or a dancer - whatever transports you and gives you wings. And, if you are able to touch people, too? That's very exciting. It makes you grow emotionally. There's nothing like having that experience onstage and having contact with the people in the audience at the same time - and, that's a collaboration as well.

PC: The most important one - the performer and the audience.

SV: I realize today more than when I started when I was sixteen that I was so superficial - and, now, I realize how difficult it is to last.

PC: What is the secret to success and a five decade career?

SV: I had never had any career plans. I never planned anything. I always went with my heart and my instincts and my passion; wherever my passion led me. If I meet people and I get excited with them, then I want to work with them; but it never goes through my head first, it goes through my heart. My collaborations have always been fantastic and exciting, but the more you grow and the more things you have done, the more difficult it becomes to do something that excites you and reinvigorates you.

PC: I can only imagine how hard it must be to keep it fresh.

SV: The real excitement comes from doing new things - and I always try to do that. The essence of what an artist should always be is discovering something - I try to keep with that. It shouldn't be rehearsed and planned and without emotion.

PC: You imbue everything you do with perfectly balanced emotion.

SV: It has to be true. It has to be genuine. (Pause.) I can't rehearse emotion.

PC: What album of yours would you recommend for people who are new to you?

SV: SOLEIL BLEU - definitely.

PC: What's next? A new album?

SV: I think we are going to do a live album for my new show with the Bulgarian Philharmonic Orchestra.

PC: That would be wonderful! Will it be filmed, too, then?

SV: Yes, yes - it will be filmed, too.

PC: Thank you so much for doing this today, Sylvie! This was magnificent. You are so thoughtful and generous.

SV: Thank you so very much, Pat! You are just wonderful. Have a nice day. Bye bye.