One of the giants of French postwar cinema, Jacques Demy (1931-1990) is best known for his fantastically exuberant THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. Demy is clearly the architect of a singular universe. His films, LOLA (1960), BAY OF ANGELS (1962) and THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) all included scores by famed composer Michel Legrand. It took Legrand one year to find the musical style that could fit Demy’s dialogue for THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. The result was a popular opera that was able to reach a broad audience. THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG was a huge success everywhere (Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and five Academy Award nominations). Two of the songs from the film were sung by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Nan Mouskouri and Sarah Vaughan.
