Marie Laforêt


Marie Laforêt was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva,
Switzerland and acquired Swiss citizenship.

Birth name

Her first name Maïtena, which is of Basque origin, means "beloved", and is sometimes used by the inhabitants of Languedoc, especially of Pyrénées and also resembles the diminutive of the name Marie-Thérèse, "Maïthé".
Doumenach, her last name, is Catalan in origin – Domènec in Catalan.
Her birth name Maïtena Marie Brigitte Doumenach, and her repertoire which included pieces inspired from world folklore, have led to speculation of an Armenian origin of her parents.
The singer herself used to define herself sometimes as "ariégeoise", i.e. from the region of Ariège in the south of France.

Biography

Childhood and adolescence

Marie Laforêt was born at Soulac-sur-Mer, in Médoc, in the villa "Rithé-Rilou", named after her aunt and her mother: Marie Thérese and Marie Louise Saint Guily. Her father's family, Doumenach, were originally from Olette, a village in the Pyrénées Orientales, on the border of Têt. Her paternal great-grandfather, Louis Doumenach, led a textile factory at Lavelanet, in Ariège and his son, Charles-Joseph Doumenach, was a colonel and municipal counsellor.
The singer's maternal grandfather built "cabanons" in the resort of Soulac-Sur-Mer, in Gironde in 1886. During the Second World War, the artist's father, an industry man, was captured and detained as a prisoner of war in Germany until the liberation in May 1945. Laforêt, her sister Alexandra and their mother knew a period of many hardships. At the age of three Laforêt suffered a sexual trauma which affected her for a long time. During the war, the Doumenachs found shelter at Cahors and in the province of their ancestors Ariège, in the village Lavelanet. After the war, the family moved to Valenciennes where the father led a factory for railway utensils. Later they settled in Paris. After becoming more religious and having considered becoming a nun, Laforêt continued her secondary studies at the Lycee La Fontaine in Paris. There she began to show interest for the dramatic arts and her first experiences in this domain proved to be therapeutically useful for her through their cathartic effect.

1960s

Her career began accidentally in 1959 when she replaced her sister at the last minute in a French radio talent contest Naissance d'une étoile and won. Director Louis Malle then cast the young starlet in the film he was shooting at the time, Liberté, a project he finally abandoned, making Laforêt's first appearance on screen her turn opposite actor Alain Delon in René Clément's 1960 drama Plein Soleil.
After this film she became very popular and interpreted many roles in the 1960s. She married director Jean-Gabriel Albicocco, who cast her in some of his own works, including La Fille aux Yeux d'Or, based on the Balzac story, which would become her nickname.
In her second film, Saint Tropez Blues, accompanied by a young Jacques Higelin at the guitar, she sang the title song and immediately started releasing singles, her first hit being 1963's Les Vendanges de l'Amour. Her songs offered a more mature, poetic, tender alternative to the light, teenage yé-yé tunes charting in France at the time. Her melodies borrowed more from exotic folk music, especially South American and Eastern European, than from contemporary American and British pop acts. Laforêt worked with many important French composers, musicians and lyricists, such as André Popp and Pierre Cour, who provided her with a panoply of colorful, sophisticated orchestral arrangements, featuring dozens of musical instruments and creating a variety of sounds, sometimes almost Medieval, Renaissance or Baroque, other times quite modern and innovative.
With businessman Judas Azuelos, a Moroccan Jew of Sephardic descent, she had two children, a daughter and a son. The daughter, Lisa Azuelos, is a French director, writer, and producer, who made a film about another famous French singer, Dalida, in 2017.

1970s

At the end of the 1960s, Laforêt had become a rather distinctive figure in the French pop scene. Her music stood out, perhaps too much for her new label CBS Records, which expected of her more upbeat, simpler songs. She was interested in making more personal records, but finally gave in. Although her most financially successful singles were released in the 1970s, Laforêt progressively lost interest in her singing career, moving to Geneva, Switzerland in 1978, where she opened an art gallery and abandoned music.

1980 to 2019

In the 1980s, Laforêt concentrated on her acting career, appearing in a few French and Italian films. Some music singles were eventually released, but were not popular. She made a comeback, however, in 1993 with her final album, for which she wrote the lyrics. In the 1990s, she again continued to work as an actress, both on screen and on stage. She performed in a number of plays in Paris over the years, acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. In September 2005, she sang once again, going on tour in France for the first time since 1972. Every concert was sold out. Laforêt resided in Geneva and obtained Swiss citizenship.
Death
Marie Laforêt died on 2 november 2019 in Genolier, a small town in the Nyon district near Geneva, for reasons unknown to the public. The ceremony took place in Paris, church Saint-Eustache, on 24 november; followed by the burial in the family cript at the Cemetery Père-Lachaise. She was 80.

Recordings

Folk music

Laforêt was fond of folk music ever since she began recording in the early 1960s. She helped popularize the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind" in France with her 1963 interpretation. On the B-side of the same EP she sings the classic American folk ballad "House of the Rising Sun". Her other folk recordings include: "Viens sur la montagne", a 1964 French adaptation of the African-American spiritual "Go Tell It on the Mountain", recorded by American folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary the previous year, "Coule doux", another Peter, Paul and Mary song, 1966's "Sur les chemins des Andes", a French version of the traditional Peruvian song "El Cóndor Pasa", and "La voix du silence", a 1966 cover of American duo Simon and Garfunkel's first hit, "The Sound of Silence".

Rock music

She also recorded some rock songs in the 1960s, her most famous being "Marie-douceur, Marie-colère", a 1966 cover of the Rolling Stones hit "Paint It Black". Another popular recording was 1965's girl group-style "A demain, my darling", known by English-speakers as "The Sha La La Song" written by Marianne Faithfull on her debut eponymous album.

Pop music

Some of her most memorable pop songs are those written or arranged by French composer André Popp, such as "Entre toi et moi", "L'amour en fleurs", "Les noces de campagne", "Mon amour, mon ami", and "Manchester et Liverpool". The melody of the latter song gained fame in the former Soviet Union as the background music to the Vremya television news programme's weather forecast in the 1970s.

Other music

The quiet, bittersweet and minimally arranged ballad "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes", composed by Francis Lai, is a Marie Laforêt favorite. Homage was paid to the song in the 1980s when French pop superstar Mylène Farmer added it to her own concert repertoire.
The 1973 hit "Viens, viens" was a cover version of a German song "Rain, Rain, Rain" performed by Simon Butterfly.
Laforêt's 1977 hit "Il a neigé sur Yesterday", perhaps her most well-known recording, was penned by musician Jean-Claude Petit, and lyricist Michel Jourdan, and who had written the words for earlier Laforêt songs, such as "Les vendanges de l'amour" and "L'orage".

Filmography

Movies
YearTitleRoleDirectorNotes
1960Purple Noon Marge DuvalRené Clément
1961'Anne-MarieMarcel Moussy
1961The Girl with the Golden Eyesthe girlJean-Gabriel Albicocco
1961Famous Love AffairsMadame GeorgesMichel Boisrond
1962'Angèle
1963À cause, à cause d'une femmeAgatheMichel Deville
1963Rat TrapMariaJean-Gabriel Albicocco
1964Cherchez l'idoleMichel BoisrondUncredited
1964Male HuntGisèleÉdouard Molinaro
1965Cent briques et des tuilesIda
1965The Camp FollowersEftikiaValerio Zurlini
1965Marie-Chantal contre le docteur KhaMarie-ChantalClaude Chabrol
1967'Fanny
1967Jack of DiamondsOlga VodkineDon Taylor
1972' the queenMichel Boisrond
1979Cop or HoodEdmonde Puget-RostandGeorges Lautner
1982'DominiqueChristian Gion
1982Que les gros salaires lèvent le doigt !Rose, Joeuf's wifeDenys Granier-DeferreUncredited
1984Les MorfalousHélène Laroche-FréonHenri Verneuil
1984Happy EasterSophie MargelleGeorges Lautner
1985'Greta RousseletJean-Pierre Mocky
1985Tangos, the Exile of GardelMarianaFernando Solanas
1987Sale destinMarthe MarboniSylvain Madigan
1987'Lotte
1987'LouiseMichel Drach
1989La folle journée ou Le mariage de FigaroLa comtesseRoger Coggio
1990The MiserContessa Isabella SpinosiTonino Cervi
1990Présumé dangereuxTheaGeorges Lautner
1990Una fredda mattina di maggioVittorio Sindoni
1992Who Wants to Kill Sara?Sara's mother
1995Ainsi soient-ellesMère de MariePatrick Alessandrin and Lisa Azuelos
1995Dis-moi oui...Mme VilliersAlexandre Arcady
1996Tykho MoonÉvaEnki Bilal
1997Desert of FireRamaEnzo G. Castellari3 episodes
1997HéroïnesSylvieGérard Krawczyk
1997Love, Math and SexPétra la vérité / Theatre Actress in red dressCharlotte Silvera
2000Jeux pour mourirBruno Romy
2008'Martine

Television Movies'
Studio Albums
Live Albums
Spanish Albums
Italian Albums
Portuguese Albums
1960s singles and EPs
1960s LPs