La Esterella, Immer Schijnen

Original Title|La Esterella, Immer Schijnen

Biography | 52" | 2001 (Completed)

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Jan Vromman, Hans Roels

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The story of diva La Esterella, from the successes of her international career through the 1940s to her retirement in the early 50s and eventual triumphant come back in 1981.

synopsis

La Esterella, 82 years old now, sings a few songs from her international repertoire of popular chanson. She stands in the spotlight as the diva she once was, and in fact still is. Once she sang in the major theatres of Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, Bratislava, Oslo, Prague, Munich... Her succes story begins in 1941 with the second World War as backdrop. She works regularly in England, as can be heard on BBC 78 recordings of that time. Her voice has an incredible reach of three and a half octaves. She sang as deep as Zarah Leander and as high as Erna Sack in a following number. However, in 1953 her record company, Philips, decides that the diva's future lies in singing in Dutch. Her popularity soars in Flanders and she becomes a symbol of the growing cultural struggle for emancipation. Her international career suffers irreparably. In 1961 her husband/ manager dies. She abruptly stops singing and avoids all public attention. But it is the media that push her in a come-back in 1982. The come-back is a runaway succes a time charged with emotion. 2001, La Esterella is still singing, and even though a pianist often replaces the orchestra of yesterday, a proud woman continiues to hold centre stage.