Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris

Professor Jaybird O'Berski directs an undergraduate cast in an intense musical revue featuring the songs of Jacques Brel.   Brel's songs explore the glories and humiliations of love, the passage of time, and, unflinchingly, death.  According to music and theater critic William Ruhlman, Brel occupied a position in French popular music roughly comparable to that of Bob Dylan in the U.S., writing and singing personal, serious songs of greater depth and individuality than most pop. Unlike Dylan, however, Brel's music, drawing upon cabaret styles, has an overtly theatrical flair.  The material lends itself to dramatic interpretation because each song defines a character and tells a story, as in "Amsterdam," a song in which a sailor salutes the city's prostitutes.   

Performances run April 6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15 at 8:00p in Sheafer Theater.  

Sunday matinees at 2:00p on April 9 and 16.

Tickets are now on sale at tickets.duke.edu