When Lady Gaga appeared at the opening of the Paris Olympics over the weekend she introduced her fans to the work of French cabaret star Zizi Jeanmarie.
The Mother Monster spent weeks in Los Angeles rehearing her rendition of the late French singer’s signature tune Mon Truc en Plumes (My Thing with Feathers). She flew in a troupe of French dancers as the learned to faithfully create the number that was first performed in 1961.
Jeanmarie was a ballet dancer and film actress. In 1949 she was the first Ballerina to perform the title role in Roland Petit’s production of Carmen. The work has gone on to become a staple of ballet companies around the globe.
She went on to appeared in the Hollywood film Hans Christian Anderson with Danny Kaye, and Anything Goes with Bing Crosby. She also found success on Broadway in the musical The Girl in Pink Tights.
Her signature work was the playful and seductive song and dance with fans made of feathers.
Originally the plan was for Lady Gaga to perform the number live during the Opening Ceremony that progressed along the river Seine.
But as the weather turned and the chance of rain increased, officials made the decision to pre-record the segment fearing the possibility of Gaga or one of the dancers slipping and falling down the stairs in the rain and ending up in the river.
Maud le Pladec, the choreographer and head of dance for the Olympics ceremonies told Variety that while the performance was recorded earlier in the day it still featured Gaga’s live vocals.
Gaga shared her enthusiasm for the number with a post to social media site X, saying she “wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth – Paris.”
While some fans might have been hoping for a rendition of Born This Way, and a joint appearance with Ariana Grande to sing Rain On Me would have been apt, Gaga’s homage to the French star has introduced a generation of fans to the career and artistry of Zizi Jeanmarie.
The French star, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 96, performed her song about her love of feathers many times. Including this clip that shows her staging the number in 2000 when she was in her mid-70s.
She really did have a feather thing!
