Yves Montand à l´Olympia – “Les Feuilles Mortes” avec partition
Yves Montand short biography
Ivo Livi, better known as Yves Montand (13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, and Giuseppina Simoni, a devout Catholic, while her husband held strong Communist beliefs.Montand’s family left for France in 1923 because of Italy’s Fascist regime. He grew up in Marseille, where, as a young man, he worked in his sister’s beauty salon (Salon de Coiffure), and later on the docks. He began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944, he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris and she made him part of her act.
Montand went on to international recognition as a singer and actor, starring in numerous films. His recognizably crooner songs, especially those about Paris, became instant classics. He was one of the most famous performers at Bruno Coquatrix‘s famous Paris Olympia music hall, and toured with musicians including Didi Duprat. In October 1947, he sang Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai ? (music by Henri Betti and lyrics by Édith Piaf) at the Théâtre de l’Étoile. Betti also asked him to sing C’est si bon but Montand refused. Following the success of the recording of this song by the Sœurs Étienne in 1948, he decided to record it.
In Paris, as the protégé of chanteuse Edith Piaf, he appeared in the 1945 motion picture Étoile sans lumière (Star Without Light). He married actress Simone Signoret in 1951. His role in La Salaire de la peur (1953; Wages of Fear) brought him international fame. His autobiography, Du Soleil plein la tête (Sunshine Fills My Mind), was published in 1955, before he gave his most-acclaimed performances, in La Guerre est finie (1966; The War Is Over) and in two films by director Costa-Gavras, Z (1968) and L’Aveu (1970; The Confession). His performances in Claude Berri’s film adaptations of two novels by Marcel Pagnol—Jean de Florette (1986) and its sequel, Manon des sources (1986; Manon of the Spring)—were also highly acclaimed.
During his career, Montand acted in a number of American motion pictures as well as on Broadway. He was nominated for a César Award for “Best Actor” in 1980 for I comme Icare and again in 1984 for Garçon! In 1986, after his international box-office draw power had fallen off considerably, the 65-year-old Montand gave one of his most memorable performances, as the scheming uncle in the two-part film Jean de Florette, co-starring Gérard Depardieu, and Manon des Sources, co-starring Emmanuelle Béart. The film was a worldwide critical hit and raised Montand’s profile in the US, where he made an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.
Discography
- 1952: Chante (Odéon)
- 1953: Chante ses dernières créations (Odéon)
- 1953: Chante Paris (Odéon)
- 1953: Récital au Théâtre de l’Étoile 1953 (Odéon, live)
- 1954: Chante ses derniers succès (Odéon)
- 1954: # 54 (Odéon)
- 1955: Chansons populaires de France (Odéon)
- 1957: 13 ans déjà ! (Odéon)
- 1958: Dix chansons pour l’été (Odéon)
- 1958: Succès du Récital 1958 au Théâtre de L’Étoile (Odéon)
- 1958: Récital 1 + Récital 2 (Philips)
- 1958: Étoile 58 (Philips)
- 1960: Dansez avec Yves Montand (Philips)
- 1961: Rengaine ta rengaine (Philips)
- 1962: Chante Prévert (Philips)
- 1962: Récital 63 – Intégral du Théâtre de l’Étoile (Philips, live)
- 1967: 7 (Philips)
- 1968: La Bicyclette (Philips)
- 1968: Le Paris de… (Philips)
- 1968: À l’Olympia (Philips, live)
- 1970: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Columbia, soundtrack with Barbra Streisand)
- 1972: Dans son dernier “One man show” intégral (CBS, live)
- 1974: Montand de mon temps (CBS or TriStar Music)
- 1981: D’hier et d’aujourd’hui (Philips)
- 1981: Le disque de la paix (Philips)
- 1982: Olympia 81 (Philips)
- 1983: In English (Philips)
- 1984: Chante David Mc Neil (Philips)
- 1988: Trois places pour le 26 (Philips, w/ Mathilda May, soundtrack)
- 1993: Les années Odéon – 1945–1958 (Columbia, 9-CD boxset)
- 1997: Plaisirs inédits (Universal)
- 2000: Et la fête continue – Intégrale 1945–1949 – Vol. 1 (Frémeaux)
- 2001: Inédits, rares & indispensables (Mercury, 4-CD boxset)
- 2004: Sensationnel – Intégrale 1949–1953 – Vol. 2 (Frémeaux)
- 2007: Une étoile à l’Étoile – Intégrale 1953–1954 – Vol. 3 (Frémeaux, live)
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