Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Jane Birkin Brings Sophisticated French Cabaret to the Perelman Theater
October 13, 2004

Kimmel Center Presents welcomes French-language chanteuse Jane Birkin to Perelman Theater as part of the Sovereign Bank World/Pop Mix on November 6, 2004 at 7:30pm. Possessing "a clear sense of mission behind that delicate voice," according to The New York Times, Birkin will pay tribute to Serge Gainsbourg, her former lover and collaborator, through songs written during their time together as well as those from albums made in the years following their split.

The second child of Major David Birkin and actress/singer Judy Campbell, Birkin was born in London on December 14, 1946. As a teenager, she embraced the pop excitement of "Swinging London." Following in her mother's footsteps, Birkin started auditioning and made her acting debut at 17 at the Haymarket Theater playing a young deaf-mute in Carving a Statue by Graham Greene.

But it was in a musical, Passion Flower Hotel, at the Prince of Wales Theater, that Birkin made her singing debut. Composer John Barry, author of the James Bond 007 theme and to whom she was married at nineteen, encouraged Birkin to audition for the role. Following her first film role in Richard Lester's The Knack, Birkin filmed Blow Up, which later received the Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes international film festival.

After the failure of her first marriage and the birth of her daughter Kate in 1967, Birkin decided to move to France. Recruited by French filmmaker Pierre Grimblat to star in his movie Slogan, it was love at first sight between Birkin and her costar Serge Gainsbourg, a popular singer and musician.

A fragile, thin voice always on the verge of breaking remained Birkin’s lasting trademark and was cleverly used by Gainsbourg who adapted his songwriting to her timbre. He composed especially for her and shaped her according to his desires. They stayed together for twelve years, becoming a popular couple, adulated by the public and the media. In 1971, they had a daughter, Charlotte, who is now an actress.

In the early eighties, Birkin’s personal life and career came to a watershed as she separated from Serge Gainsbourg and wanted to break away from her image of a "funny English girl." In 1998, Birkin released her first album without Serge Gainsbourg, A la légèr, with songs written by 12 contemporary French songwriters, such as Daho, Art Mengo, Chamfort, Lavoine, Zazie, Souchon/Voulzy, and François Hardy. This album was followed in 1999 by the release of The Best of Jane Birkin. In 2002, Birkin released Arabesque in France.

Tickets for the November 6 performance by Jane Birkin $48 & $58 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. For group sales call 215-790-5883.

A limited number of $10 tickets will be available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. $10 tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm for evening performances and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one per person.

Sponsors of the 2004-2005 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Bank of America, Sovereign Bank, Wachovia Foundation, The American Express Company, Verizon Foundation, Bucks County Coffee and SEPTA, the Commuter's Choice. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming.

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