Born on 24 August 1916 in Monaco, Léo Ferré became interested in music and singing from a very early age, joining a choir and learning music theory and harmony. His uncle Albert Scotto, a violinist with the Monte-Carlo Orchestra, introduced him to classical music. He spent eight years in Italy with ...
Born on 24 August 1916 in Monaco, Léo Ferré became interested in music and singing from a very early age, joining a choir and learning music theory and harmony. His uncle Albert Scotto, a violinist with the Monte-Carlo Orchestra, introduced him to classical music. He spent eight years in Italy with the Brothers of Christian Schools, studying at Saint-Charles de Bordighera college. After gaining his baccalaureate in philosophy, Léo Ferré became a music critic, writing for the newspaper Le Petit Niçois. Demobilised in 1940, he returned to Monaco where he wrote songs, before moving to Paris. There, he joined the libertarian movement. Léo Ferré finally earned his first successes with Paris-Canaille and Les amants de Paris, while continuing to perform in cabarets. In 1955, he moved to the Olympia, marking the start of a long career of nearly forty years, during which time he produced around fifty albums. In 1968, after a painful split from his second wife Madeleine, he settled in Tuscany. Considered by many to be one of the finest poets of the 20th century, he occupies an important place in the history of French “chanson”, writing music infused with a blend of slang, lyricism, love, and anarchy. His repertoire includes some very dark songs, along with lengthy texts set to symphonic music. He performed verse written by the romantic poets such as Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Apollinaire, or contemporaries like Aragon and Pierre Seghers. On the commemorative plaque, the words “Avec le Temps” refer to Léo Ferré’s most famous song.
Blaise Devissi was born in 1963 in Monaco. The self-taught sculptor’s work expresses his deep attachment to the Monegasque poet. “Like Léo, I am a Monegasque and proud that he is being paid homage for the first time. His name must not fade into obscurity. This bust took me barely a week to sculpt. That shows the depth of my admiration for this man. Like him, I like to be provocative as a way of inspiring reflection. From there, I offered to donate this bust in terracotta, provided it was put on display on Place Clichy”, near Léo Ferré’s family home.
