Fresh out of Moscow Eurovision where she took a disappointing eighth place, French diva Patricia Kaas is coming to Kyiv with two concerts of her Kabaret Tour. A modern iconic French singer, with a smoky voice a la Edit Piaf and Marlene Dietrich, Kaas is extremely popular in Ukraine and Russia.
She is considered one of the most famous and successful French-speaking performers in the world, elegantly mixing pop, jazz and classical chanson.
Born in 1966 in Stiring Wendel, a French town next to the German border, Kaas started performing at various local events at a very young age, quickly gaining popularity for her unusual hoarse vocals. In 1985, Kaas found her first producer – no other than world-famous actor Gerard Depardieu – and released her first single “Jalouse” (Jealous). The latter didn’t do very well, but helped to introduce the young performer to songwriter Didier Barbelivien. It was Barbelivien’s song “Mademoiselle Chante le Blues” that became Kaas’s first big hit and gave a start to her debut alum “Mademoiselle Chante…” that went Platinum in France, Belgium and Switzerland. With her second album, “Scene de Vie” she visited Moscow and Leningrad (modern St. Petersburg) giving the first of her numerous future concerts. In 1993, following the release of “Je Te Dis Vous” record, she became the first Western performer to play in Hanoi after the Vietnam War and also gave a benefit concert in Chornobyl before 3,000 people.
From then on, Kaas’ career just kept going up. She released more albums with various renowned producers, and gave concerts accompanied by symphonic orchestras. In 2001, Kaas tried out as an actress and starred alongside Jeremy Irons in “And now… Ladies and Gentlemen,” by Claude Lelouch. In winter 2008, Kaas pleasantly surprised her Russian fans by recording a song “Ne Pozvonish” (You Will Not Call) in Russian with local pop duet Uma2rmaN. Naturally it was a huge hit.
Kaas’ latest record, double album “Kabaret,” was released just two months ago and without hesitation she embarked on a tour to support it.
Palats Ukraina (103 Chervonoarmiyska, Palats Ukraina metro, 247-2599). May 25-26, at 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 500 to Hr 5,000.
