The Slipped Disc daily comfort zone (176): Angela’s my old Dutch

Le Křenek du jour says:

Listening to Angela Gheorghiu and Jeroen Willems side by side, interpreting Brel in French and in Dutch, I cannot help reflecting how much more adequate the Dutch ductus sounds, how much more germane the inflexions and the music. Without wanting to fuel the flames of yet another Wallon-Vlaams linguistic war, to my ear, the melody, indeed the entire phonology of Brel’s French, when sung, has a certain West Flemish ring to it, above and beyond the francophone Bruxellois. In Angela Gheorghiu’s impeccable operatic French, this layer is — inevitably — lost.
Yes, Brel was that rare and now almost extinct species which extremists on both sides of the communal divide would want to expurgate from the cultural memory: ‘un Flamand francophone’.

Poignant footnote: the video shows a notable figure in the audience, then-Queen Beatrix. She would have also been one of the guests of honor seven years later, at a gala in Amsterdam, equally featuring Jeroen Willems. But Willems suffered cardiac failure during rehearsals earlier that day and died hours later. The gala was cancelled. A random but tragic link with this reminder of Angela Gheorghiu’s birthday.

Basia Jaworski says:

with Jeroen Willems. Great actor and a good singer. Died only 50 years old