The French singer BARBARA (1930 - 1997) is the great individual case of French chanson, combining moving emotion and a finely spun world of thought to create a unique musical experience.

With her clear, sometimes deeply dark voice and her soul-searching songs, BARBARA is one of the great representatives of French post-war chanson alongside Édith Piaf, Juliette Gréco and Jacques Brel.

With "NACHTBLAU - Chanson für eine Abwesende", Meret Becker and Dietmar Loeffler rediscover an artist who, as a French Jew, campaigned for reconciliation between Germany and France like no other. Her chanson "Göttingen" is probably the best-known musical testimony to this.

With her chansons, BARBARA shines a light into the darkness of the human soul, making her autobiographical experiences accessible and tangible in filigree, powerful art.  

Her chansons from "Au coeur de la nuit" to "Nantes" and "La Solitude" revolve around the archetypes of human dreams and fears, accompanied by the central theme of love and its loss. Their themes take up the existentialism that preceded it in France and lead it into a modern post-war world in which reality and phantasmagoria merge.

Meret Becker and Dietmar Loeffler recreate this great "unknown acquaintance" and bring her back to life on the TIPI stage with her feverish lyrics and dark melodies. With "NACHTBLAU - Chanson für eine Abwesende", they honour this great artist who sang her songs in both German and French.

Vocals, lyrics & concept: Meret Becker
Piano, arrangement & concept: Dietmar Loeffler

Cello: Marie Claire Schlameus
Accordion: Uwe Steger

Stage: Katrin Kersten
Costume: Esther Perbandt & Danny Reinke