BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

Autograph letter signed « Barbara » to Jean [Poissonnier]
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8°, black ink on grey paper
Watermark “Pineider – Firenze – Roma”
Slight missing bit on upper margin (see scan)

Troubling letter from the singer to former lover

« Cher Jean,
Votre mot me touche beaucoup. Je suis silencieuse, me débattant dans de sombres drames.
Je suis toujours votre amie – vous embrasse vous et votre charmante femme.
Barbara »

Jean Poissonnier, a songwriter, was Barbara’s former lover when they both stayed at the Château de Boisrenault in the Indre department, in 1957. They remained close friends, as evidenced by this intimate letter from the singer, clearly in the midst of a very difficult episode in her life.
Recognized as one of the greatest French voices with a singing style that is both mannered and dramatic, but also as an extraordinary songwriter, Barbara also has a fragile health. She died at only 67 years of age, and ended her career very weakened by an unbalanced diet, worn out by stimulants and drugs taken in massive doses to calm her chronic anxieties. His legendary songs such as Dis, quand revenirs-tu?, Nantes, Göttingen, L’Aigle noir and Ma plus belle histoire d’amour are now part of the pantheon of French songs.