Depardieu chanson concert in Prague: Zeman among the guests

French actor Gérard Depardieu gave a chanson concert in Prague: on Monday evening he performed songs by Barbara at the Hybernia Theatre. Guests included former president Miloš Zeman and Czech Radio director-general René Zavoral.

The actor dedicated the concert, “The Magic of Chanson,” to the late French singer Barbara, whose real name was Monique Serf. In 1986 she worked with Depardieu on the musical production Lily Passion. The evening was organized by musician Michal David, who also hosted it. The actor chose the theatre back in the spring, when he attended the celebration of actress Jiřina Bohdalová's 95th birthday there; lately he has been living in Prague with his Czech partner.

Bohdalová herself declined to attend, but actor Pavel Trávníček and composer Zdeněk Barták came. One audience member was outraged by Zeman lighting a cigarette inside the theatre building. The former president later wrote on social media that he had accompanied his wife to the concert, that they had a friendly chat with the actor afterwards, and that Prague should see such a chanson evening again in the future.

An evening on a dark stage

Depardieu came out to the audience accompanied by pianist Gérard Daguerre. He thanked the audience in Czech and explained why he had asked for photographers to be kept out: “There comes a moment when it is indecent to allow yourself to be photographed.” He sang Barbara's melancholy songs in the feminine form, acted in places and read her lyrics between numbers. A Czech translation was shown on a screen above the stage, and at the end the hall gave a standing ovation.

“Barbara was a great singer in France, she died at 67, suffered a lot, but wrote beautiful songs. Barbara and I share a story of thirty years of friendship,” Depardieu said. He donated all proceeds from the concert to a project run by a team of paramedics, “Ambulance of Fulfilled Dreams.”

The shadow of the court case

The performance comes against the backdrop of the actor's legal troubles. Following a sexual assault conviction, he faces an 18-month suspended sentence. Depardieu has appealed; the Paris appeal court will begin hearing the case on Nov. 16, and until then the actor remains under a suspended conviction. Several of his concerts in France were cancelled after public protests.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz