The show is called "Between Life and Love". A way to celebrate farewell without sadness. At 74, Catherine Lara will launch this Friday at the Palais des Sports in Paris, a final series of shows to revisit nearly fifty years of career.
Why do you decide to stop the concerts?
CATHERINE LARA. I've been doing it for 48 years. At one point, it becomes complicated when you have to hit the road and drive up to 400 terminals before and after a show. I had so much fun. I love to sing, but I prefer to play the violin. I am incredibly lucky to have been able to do the job I loved and then to live from it. That is the demand of the people ?
You do not stop the music so far?
No. If I have to stop I hang myself! We will say that I stop the variety song. But I don't have a knife in my throat, I'll see what life has to offer. I just feel like I need something else.
What will this last tour look like?
It is scheduled on forty or fifty dates. I will have singers with me. There will be 500 in Paris, but there won't be as many everywhere. On stage, I will be surrounded by magnificent 3D projections, two large grand pianos with two brilliant pianists from the conservatory. But it will not be intimate. It’s going to blow up too. I am a "rockmantic"!
Are you more of a singer or a musician?
I don't think I've ever been a singer. I am a musician who expresses herself. A blow I sing, a blow I play the violin. I am a kind of acrobat. At the moment, I'm also having fun composing the music for the "Captain Marleau" series. Corinne Masiero is a truly extraordinary actress. It's the new Columbo!
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And your violin, you are not going to let it go?
Oh, never! It is welded into me. I'm going to die with it.
Do you remember your first approach with this instrument?
Yes, I must have been 4 or 5 years old. It was with my father. He was a doctor, but above all a great music lover. He was doing a little violin and it fascinated me. Whenever I listened to her I almost had tears in my eyes. It touched me deeply, it awoke deep bruises that came from I don't know where. I asked my father to show me. He said to me: "I will teach you to vibrate". So I started by sticking the violin against a wall. It was ten times too big for me. My body was shaking. Finally dad got to vibrate my hand to get this beautiful sound. Since then, it has not stopped.
How did you go from classic to variety?
At the time, I was making recording sessions to make a living because the classic did not bring much. This is how I met, among others, Françoise Hardy, Georges Moustaki, Barbara… And Claude Nougaro. He offered to accompany me so I formed the "Lara quartet" and we went on a big tour (note: in the early 1970s) . The trigger, I will always remember, took place at the Saint-Etienne theater. I looked at Claude from behind, this little bull entering the arena. He fascinated me with his talent, his strength and his emotion. And I thought it must be good to be in this place, to talk to people. From that moment on, I started to write songs.
What was your first big scene?
It was the Olympia. Moustaki had taken me in the first part. I was on the verge of general anesthesia because I was so scared. I came back on the blue stage in fear. I did not master the jitters at all. This first time was very unpleasant. I was wondering a lot. It was a nightmare. Fortunately it changed after (laughs) !
In 1983, "The Diamond Rocker" was a huge success. Doesn't it really stick to your skin?
It's always a great chance to hit a tube. I wish this to all the people who sing. It's the little star falling from the sky. This title was 75th degree, because I'm not really that girl. Of course, I have a rock'n'roll soul. The joke was "the diamond cruncher". We did this to have fun. The song was made in about 15 minutes after the disc was finished. It was the icing on the cake. And it turns out that everyone threw themselves on this song. I don't know why, that's how it is. Maybe people said to themselves: "Ah well, yes, she's like that too". But 37 years later, I have less desire to sing it.
You claim this rock'n'roll spirit?
I have cowboy boots in my head. Sometimes also on the feet. I like the street, the people of the street. I love everything that is true, authentic. That's what rock'n'roll is.
You were one of the first people to reveal your homosexuality. How did you experience it at the time?
I had no regrets. Today, we still talk about homosexuality as something that is in the back alley. I speak of love, of "homosensuality", that pleases me well. I have lived with the same person for 25 years. It's a woman. She is extraordinary. Life has taken me on this beautiful journey. There is nothing worse than being locked in a drawer. But I need men as much as women. It is an essential balance. The yin and the yang.
It shouldn't have been easy to talk about it in the 1980s…
Obviously. I did it for the sake of transparency because I did not feel able to say that I married Raoul while I was living with Paulette. It is impossible to lie. Unconsciously, I knew it could help other people. You know, it is easier to live on the margins when you are an artist than when you work in a factory. I told myself that by freeing myself from that, others could say to themselves: "And why not me?" ". All I hope is that the question will never arise again. It's life.
Besides the tour, what are you working on?
I have a project with the dancer, director and choreographer Adrien Ouaki. I cannot say too much for the moment, but it will be a kind of ballet which will deal with a serious subject. Also, I will also try to put together the show "Bô" with the immense choreographer Giuliano Peparini. Otherwise I plan to go on vacation to rest a little (laughs) !
Catherine Lara, in concert this Friday, February 14 at the Palais des sports, Dôme in Paris. And on May 27 in Puteaux. Information on www.lara-passion.fr