Review: Anne Carrere is Arc De Triumphant in PIAF!

On her worldwide way to the Big Apple and the 60th Anniversary in January 2017 of Edith Piaf's final Carnegie Hall performance, Anne Carrere has become a legend in her own right, interpreting the Little Sparrow's iconic songs with a mix of awesome vocals and endearing countenance in PIAF! THE SHOW.

Her performance to an adoring audience at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (October 22nd) was a biographical tour (and tour de force!) through song and film of the chansonnière's journey from rags (literally ~ she grew up, abandoned by her mother, living in poverty, singing in the streets and cafes of Paris) through personal tragedies to the richness of international acclaim.

Accompanied by a four piece band that alone would have been worth the price of admission, Carrere acts/sings out a series of interactions in the bistros and rues of La Ville Lumière that chronicle Piaf's experience and ultimately lead to her breakthrough to superstardom.

It is the songs associated with that elevated status that are featured in the second half of the program. One by one, from the lesser known repertoire to classics like Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes), La Vie en Rose, and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, Carrere enchants her audience and brews up a veritable musical storm. Put simple, Carrere is magnificent!

Albeit a substantial number of Francophiles populated the audience, for the English-only fans, program notes and a song list would have been a great assist and enhanced the experience further.

The tour of PIAF! THE SHOW continues with next stops in Los Angeles and Quebec.

Photo credit to Gil Marsalla, the show's brilliant producer and director.

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