Zizi Jeanmaire

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Zizi Jeanmaire 1963

Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (born April 29, 1924 in Paris ; † July 17, 2020 in Tolochenaz , Switzerland ) was a French ballet dancer , actress and chanson singer . She became known in the 1950s for her portrayal of the title role in the ballet Carmen , which was produced in London in 1949 .

Career

She met her future husband and long-term colleague, the dancer and choreographer Roland Petit , at the age of nine during her training at the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris . The two married in 1954. Their joint shows established their continued success.

Jeanmaire became a member of the Opera Ballet in 1939. In 1944 she danced in the Soirées de la danse in the Sarah Bernhardt Theater . In 1946 she was ballerina of the Nouveau Ballet de Monte Carlo and in 1947 during the last season of Colonel de Basils Original Ballet Russe in London . She then danced as the main star of the Ballettes de Paris , led by her husband , where she was best known for her energy and passion. In 1949 she created her most famous role Carmen for a musical arrangement of melodies from Bizet 's opera of the same name . She first appeared as a chansonette in Petits Croqueuse de diamants in 1950 . Other role creations included 1958 Petits La Rose des vents and 1959 Cyrano de Bergerac .

Her success took her to Hollywood for a short detour , where she worked under the name Jeanmaire and appeared in the musicals Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and Anything Goes (1956). In 1953 she made her Broadway debut in The Girl in Pink Tights . She then concentrated on her work on ballet and produced over 60 shows together with her husband at the Casino de Paris . Jeanmaire's trademark became her dance number in the song Mon truc en plumes . Later creations were Symphonie fantastique at the Paris Opera (1975) and Die Fledermaus (Marseille 1979). In 1979 she and her then dance partner Luigi Bonino made an appearance on the German TV show Die Vico-Torriani-Show , in which she presented a best of medley.

The American artist Joseph Cornell was obsessed with Jeanmaire, although the two had only spoken to each other briefly in 1949 after a Carmen performance in their dressing room. Cornell kept her autograph and collected newspaper clippings and photos. In his gallery he staged a personal homage to her with the title La Lanterne Magical du Ballet Romantique of Joseph Cornell . She is also mentioned at the beginning of the song Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) by Peter Sarstedt from 1969: "You talk like Marlene Dietrich , and you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire."

Jeanmaire also tried herself as a singer and recorded chansons by Serge Gainsbourg , Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert . The songs of Gainsbourg in particular have always been the focus of her repertoire. The albums Au Casino de Paris (1972) and Bombino (1977) mainly contained songs by the chansonnier.

In 1998, the director Mischa Scorer made the documentary Zizi, Je T'Aime about Jeanmaire .

Film appearances

  • 1952: Hans Christian Andersen and the Dancer (Hans Christian Andersen)
  • 1956: Broadway Magic (Anything Goes)
  • 1957: Paradise of Love (Folies-Bergère)
  • 1957: Cavaliers (Charmants garçons)
  • 1959: The tavern of temptation (Guinguette)
  • 1960: Carmen 62 (1-2-3-4 or Les Collants noirs)
  • 1991: La belle au bois dormant

literature

  • Zizi Jeanmaire et al .: Zizi. Zizi Jeanmaire. Assouline, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84323-389-5 .
  • Horst Koegler, Helmut Günther: Reclams Ballett Lexikon. Reclam, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-15-010328-2 , p. 226 f.

Web links

Commons : Zizi Jeanmaire  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ E 'morta Zizi Jeanmaire danzatrice e showgirl, moglie di Roland Petit. In: giornaledelladanza.com. July 17, 2020, accessed July 17, 2020 (Italian).
  2. ^ Stephanie D'heil: Zizi Jeanmaire. In: steffi-line.de. February 5, 2015, accessed July 17, 2020 .
  3. ^ A Tribute to Gainsbourg: Zizi Jeanmaire interprète de Serge Gainsbourg. In: gainsbourg.org. Archived from the original on November 5, 2004 ; accessed on July 17, 2020 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Jeanmaire, Zizi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jeanmaire, Renée Marcelle (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French ballet dancer, actress and chanson singer
DATE OF BIRTH April 29, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 2020
Place of death Tolochenaz