C’est si bon!

This exhibition is the result of the twinning of the Municipality of Rome with the Mairie in Paris, and has been organised by the Department of Cultural Heritage. Previously held with great success in the halls of the Hotel de Ville in 2002, it documents the eventful artistic career of the singer and actor, Yves Montand.
"C'est si bon! Roma canta Montand", is the French tribute to this Italian singer, though the Roman edition also celebrates the artist's Italian roots. Indeed, Ivo Livi (Yves Montand's real name) was born in Monsummano Terme, a province of Pistoia. In 1924 he and his family were forced to emigrate to Marseille in order to escape the Fascist regime. The rest of his career took shape in France, where he lived until his death in 1991.

With two hundred mostly unpublished photographs, film posters, playbills, theatre programmes, film clips and recordings, personal documents, texts, diaries, correspondence, costumes and other curio, the extensive collection allows visitors to gain an insight into the public and private life of the artist.

The exhibition starts with a seventeen year-old Montand in Marseille, when, spurred on by his brother, he presented himself to his first ever manager, and takes us up to 1981, when he gave his last concert at the Olympia. In between these two events, the exhibition covers his main international tours (the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1956-57, and the United States in 1959), his career as a distinguished actor, which received universal acclaim thanks to his meeting with the director, Costa Gavras, in 1964, and his work as a humanitarian and fervent pacifist. And not forgetting the women in his life: Edith Piaf, who became his partner in 1944 and remained so for three years, providing intelligent guidance and encouraging him to adopt the style of the popular Parisian song; Simone Signoret, whom he married in 1951, forming a legendary on and off-screen couple; and, of course, Marilyn.

The exhibition also includes two multimedia rooms where the visitor can relive the artist's life. In the first room, exerts from his musical shows in the 1950s will be shown, whilst in the second room a series of shows Montand made for television will be screened. The Rai International documentary, "For Yves Montand", by Nino Bizzarri, will also be shown during the course of the exhibition. This will be the first time the documentary, which has won important International recognition such as a Special Prize at the Golden Rose festival in Montreux and an honourable mention at the International Television Gran Prix in Montecarlo, is screened in Italy. As well as numerous clips of his performances, the documentary contains exclusive interviews with the artist talking about his relationship with Italy and his political convictions.

The event will be accompanied by a series of two concerts, to be held in the room that houses the Museum's bust collection: "Ma Barbara", performed and directed by Patrick Rossi Gastaldi, with musical direction by Cinzia Gangarella; a concert dedicated to Edith Piaf, performed by Monique Bassereau.
Free admittance, advance booking required: tel. 06 82077304.

Another event connected to the exhibition, which will be held at the Sala Umberto theatre is "Paris Boum!", a concert of French songs from the twentieth century, performed by the Italian "chansonnier" Cesare Nissirio, accompanied by Giovanni Truncellito on piano and Paolo Rozzi on accordion.
Sala Umberto (via della Mercede): Euro 15,00 full price, Euro 12,50 reduced rate for those who have a Capitoline Museums ticket. Information and reservations: tel. 06 44237261.