Jacques Higelin — Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris, 1978

A live concert by Jacques Higelin at the Théâtre de l’Empire in Paris, captured for the television programme « Chorus » broadcast on Antenne 2 on 1 October 1978 — a document from the INA archives. A towering figure of French chanson, a stage poet of untamed energy, Higelin then embodied the renewal of a free, theatrical and rock-tinged song. Backed by his musicians, he performs « Lettre à la p’tite amie de l’ennemi public numéro 1 », « Je veux cette fille », « Denise », « Banlieue boogie blues » and « Paris New York », moving between tenderness and detonation, whisper and cry. His cracked voice, charisma and sense of spectacle turn every song into a miniature piece of theatre. This filmed live performance, precious for its archival quality, documents one of the most singular artists of the French stage in the late 1970s, on the cusp of his great triumphs. An essential filmed live concert for lovers of French chanson and live performance. French chanson, 1970s live concert.