The story of Mireille Mathieu is often equated with a fairy tale. Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946 in the Provencal city of Avignon. She was the eldest daughter in a family of 14 other children.
Mother (Marcel) and father (Roger) raised children in a small wooden house. Roger the bricklayer worked for his father, the head of a modest company.
Mireille began singing at a young age. As a second mother to her siblings, she left school at 13,5 to work. But singing remained her main passion.
Popular success Mireille Mathieu
The starting point of her career was in 1964 when she won a song contest in Avignon. A girl with an amazing voice was invited to sing on the very popular TV show Télé Dimanche presented by Roger Lanzac and Raymond Marsillac.
On November 21, 1965, the French noticed a young woman who looked very much like Edith Piaf. The same voice, the same message and the same fervor.
Since then, Mireille Mathieu has embarked on a career that has reached its peak in just a few months. Johnny Stark (famous artistic agent for Johnny Hallyday and Yves Montana) was in charge of the young singer.
He became her mentor and forced her to take lessons in singing, dancing, learning languages. She was very hardworking, easily succumbed to this new life. Musician Paul Mauriat became its music director.
Mireille's first singles C'est Ton Nom and Mon Credo are a worldwide success.
Numerous hits followed (Quelle Est Belle, Paris En Colère, La Dernière Valse).
The singer recorded her songs in foreign languages. Thus, she united many European cultures, especially in Germany. At the age of 20, Mireille Mathieu became the symbol and ambassador of France. Being a great admirer of General de Gaulle, she even asked him to become the godfather of her youngest child.
International success Mireille Mathieu
From her native Provence, Mireille Mathieu flew to Japan, China, the USSR and the USA. In Los Angeles, she was invited to The Ed Sullivan Show (a famous show watched by millions of Americans).
The audience all over the world loves this TV program and Mireille. She knew how to adapt to the repertoire of each country and sang in many languages.
On April 7 and 8, 1975, she performed on the New York stage at Carnegie Hall. Mireille became more famous abroad.
Her repertoire consists of original songs (Tous Les Enfants Chantent Avec Moi, Mille Colombes). The compositions are written by famous French songwriters: Eddy Marne, Pierre Delano, Claude Lemel, Jacques Revo.
Mathieu's best friend Charles Aznavour. He wrote several songs for her, including Folle Folle Follement Heureuse Ou Encore Et Encore. Cover versions have played a significant role: Je Suis Une Femme Amoureuse (Woman in Love by Barbara Streisand), La Marche de Sacco et Vanzetti, Un Homme Et Une Femme, Ne Me Quitte Pas, New York, New York.
In the early 1980s, she worked in a duet with the American Patrick Duffy. Then he was the hero of the soap opera "Dallas". This was followed by work with the Spanish tenor Placido Domingo.
Mathieu was very famous in Asia. She was invited to sing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Seoul (South Korea) in 1988.
The ups and downs of singer Mireille Mathieu
When Johnny Stark died on April 24, 1989, Mireille Mathieu became like an orphan. She owes him everything in her career. Another agent could not, she said, replace him. This fact was a test for Stark's assistant Nadine Jaubert. But his career has never regained its former dimensions.
On French television, symbolizing the traditions and conservatism of France, Mireille Mathieu was often the butt of jokes.
Shortly after Johnny Stark's death, she tried to change that view. But her image is very rooted in France. With the album The American (after Stark), she again tried to modernize with modern music. But the attempts were in vain.
At the request of President François Mitterrand, Mireille Mathieu sang in honor of General de Gaulle in 1989. The following year, singer François Feldman produced her album Ce Soir Je T'ai Perdu.
She gave concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in December 1990. Three years later, she released an album dedicated to her idol, Edith Piaf.
In January 1996, the album Vous Lui Direz was released. During the concert, Mireille (dressed by Provençal couturier Christian Lacroix) paid tribute to idol Judy Garland.
International recognition
Having more popularity abroad than in France, she once again returned to China in April 1997. In addition, a museum in her honor was opened in a small town in Ukraine.
In December 1997, she sang in the Vatican during a Christmas concert broadcast around the world.
On March 11 and 12, 2000, Mathieu performed in the Kremlin (Moscow) in front of 12 thousand people. Among the spectators were "fans" from Germany, France, California. Mireille also spoke at two press conferences with 200 journalists each.
Mireille Mathieu continued to release recordings in separate editions for each country. She performed in Kyiv with a concert in June 2001 at the Palace "Ukraine" in the presence of President Leonid Kuchma. Then the singer sang on September 8 in Augsburg (Germany) during a solemn meeting of several artists.
In December 2001, for the 80th birthday of her mother, the singer organized a trip to France with her 13 brothers and sisters. On January 12, she was still in Eastern Europe at a concert in Bratislava (Slovakia).
On the occasion of the great annual ball and the opera, she interpreted five of her songs. Then on January 30, she was in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks. April 26 Mireille Mathieu returned to Russia and gave a concert in Moscow in front of 5 thousand "fans".
New tour in the new millennium
But the real highlight was the announcement in early 2002 of a new French album and a 25-show tour of the Parisian provinces.
Indeed, the singer released the album De Tes Mains at the end of October 2002. It was the 37th album directed by Mika Lanaro (Claude Nougaro, Patrick Bruel).
And Mireille went on stage with him in the Olympia concert hall from November 19 to 24.
“I am aware that I left France,” the singer told Agence France Presse, “and I did not stop touring abroad, in Russia, Germany, Japan or Finland. It was time to return to my country!
On this mythical stage, the singer received a triumphant reception. Mireille Mathieu was accompanied by 6 musicians led by Jean Claudric, who worked with her for many years.
Then Mathieu went on tour in France.
40 years of singing career
In 2005, on the occasion of the 40-year career of La Demoiselle d'Avignon, she released the 38th album Mireille Mathieu. Many songwriters, including Irene Bo and Patrice Guirao, contributed lyrics to the album, mostly on the theme of love.
Mireille continued to achieve success abroad, especially in Russia and East Asia. The President of Russia invited her on May 9, 2005 to sing on Red Square in Moscow in front of an audience of heads of state dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In France, she celebrated her 40-year career during concerts at Olympia, where she was given a "ruby disc". The singer then embarked on a French tour in December 2005.
In November 2006 Mireille Mathieu published the first music DVD Une Place Dans Mon Cœur. It was dedicated to a concert in Olympia for 40 years of its existence. The DVD was accompanied by an interview with the singer, in which she reminisced about travels, childhood and anecdotes.
In May 2007, the singer performed on the day of the election of Nicolas Sarkozy to the post of President of the Republic with the songs "La Marseillaise" and "Miles Colomb" at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. On November 4, she performed in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the National Day of Russia in front of 12 thousand people.
In the spring of 2008, the singer gave concerts in Germany. There, in January, she received the Berliner Zeitung Culture Prize in the Lifetime Work nomination. She was seen again in Russia on November 1, 2008 during a concert in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi.
Mireille Mathieu today
The artist was invited in September 2009 to the military music festival. She performed three songs on the Red Square of Moscow, accompanied by the orchestra of the foreign legion.
At the end of 2009, she released the album Nah Bei Dir in Germany, in which 14 songs were translated into German. He was very successful in the country of Goethe, where the French diva performed in the spring of 2010, as well as in Austria and Denmark.
On June 12, Mireille Mathieu was the guest of honor at the Constellation of Russia festival in Paris. It took place within the framework of the Franco-Russian Year and the visit of Vladimir Putin to the French capital. This first took place on the Champ de Mars, and then in the Grand Palais.
