European culture is close to Russian people. But even avid music lovers and theatergoers will not immediately remember who Jacques Brel is. The peak of his work and popularity came in the fifties and sixties. Bright actor and singer. Original screenwriter and director. Sincere and charming person. Throughout life, he was more guided by feeling than by reason. With this quality, the singer attracts the love of an audience in different countries.
Cheerful seal
Starting conditions oriented Jacques to a measured and monotonous life of the middle-class bourgeois. Late child, he was born in the family of a businessman. My father was already over fifty, and he was a co-owner of a cardboard factory. The strict Catholic wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. And even got him a job - to take orders and give ready-made boxes of cardboard. However, the natural temperament of a young man, his hyperactivity, violates all plans. Having entered St. Louis College for twelve years, he was never able to complete his education. The lack of a certificate did not bother the young slobbering.
Among friends and peers, Jacques Brel has always turned on, a leader, a merry fellow. In the local organization of scouts he was nicknamed the "laughing seal." The teenager was constantly joking and teasing friends. At first glance, it seemed to those around that the reckless boy did not think at all about the future, about his place in life, about his career. Time has shown that this is a false idea. In the postwar period, the matured Jacques persistently engaged in creativity without leaving his home business. The first plays and musical compositions were created during this period.
Jacques is involved in the Franche Corde group as a singer and songwriter. Here he meets Teresa Mikhilsen or, as her colleagues called her, simply Misha. From this moment, husband and wife work together. In 1951, their daughter is born. Personal life does not distract the singer from work. A year later, Jacques records and releases a record with his songs. The pen test ended in complete failure. Critics and viewers simply did not notice the unknown singer's vinyl record. Only the participation and love of Theresa helped Jacques to cope with depression and go to Paris, where he was invited by a famous cultural figure.
