Bruno Coquatrix not knowing it at all, thought it was a belly dancer. He had never heard of her, and the minister had told her that she was a very great singer and that in Egypt, tickets for her concerts were bought 2 years in advance!
At his request, Om Kalthoum had agreed to meet Bruno Coquatrix and had agreed to go sing in Paris. But she had fixed her cachet herself: 20 million cents for two recitals, plus all her stays of stays, plus accommodation in a large Parisian palace, for her and for the 30 members of her orchestra.
The director of the Olympia had never paid such a sum for an artist, however he had accepted. The cachet was so important that the prices of the tickets had been set at 30,000 former francs (around 45 euros), which was huge at the time.
To listen to Bruno Coquatrix telling, click here.
OM Kalthoum in front of the obelisk of the Place de la Concorde in Paris
Up to eight days before the date scheduled for concerts in Paris, no posts had been sold, people did not believe that OM Kalthoum was really going to move to Paris. Besides, these two concerts at Olympia are the only concerts that the diva gave in Europe.
When OM Kalthoum arrives in Paris, French television had sent a journalist filming it at the airport, for a report for the television news. This is how people saw that she was really there. As of the same evening, it was the rush to buy the tickets. The admirers had come from all over Europe, there had been charters of England, Germany, Belgium … There were people of all social classes: the disadvantaged class, the middle class, but also the rich, princes of the Gulf countries … The two concerts were archi archi!
OM Kalthoum’s concert audience at the Paris Olympia
A man had arrived at the checkout, he wanted a place in the front row, but there was no more. He had laid 100,000 old francs at the cash desk, but the cashier replied that there was no more room in the front row. He then proposed 200,000 AFR, and then 500,000 AFR, but the cashier replied that she could not do anything, there was no more room in the 1st row. He then drew his revolver to threaten her. He had been mastered but had been able to obtain a chair between two strapontines, in the front row.
At each of these two recitals, Om Kalthoum had sang 3 songs, for about 6 hours a night, from 9 p.m. to almost 3 a.m.
OM Kalthoum sings at the Paris Olympia
Bruno Coquatrix had noticed that there were about 400 to 500 Sephardic Jews. He was afraid that they would not come to do grabuge (they were in 1967 !!!). But he had then been surprised to see that they were there for Om Kalthoum, that they were fans and that they were there for his talent!
During the second recital, one of the spectators had been able to go on stage and kiss his hands.
Om Kalthoum at the end of his concert at the Olympia on November 15, 1967
At the end of the 2nd recital, an evening had been organized in honor of Om Kalthoum, to which all the “big” of the country had been invited. General of Gaul had made him offer to this evening a large bouquet of flowers, accompanied by a telegram where he had written to him that she was welcome in France and where he had congratulated her for his enormous success, he had notably wrote “I felt in your voice the vibrations of my heart and the heart of all French”.
Om Kalthoum in front of the poster announcing his two concerts at the Paris Olympia
All the French newspapers of the time had spoken of these two historical concerts which had been an event as France had never seen. These two Recitals of OM Kalthoum were the most important in the history of Olympia. Some personalities had had the privilege of being present, including Habib and Wassila Bourguiba, the French actor Gérard Depardieu, the singer Marie Laforêt, the French actor and writer Jean Claude Pascal…
French actor and writer Jean Claude Pascal presents his tributes at the Diva at the end of his concert on November 14, 1967 at the Olympia
For more details on this visit to Paris and listen to certain testimonies:
After Paris, Om Kalthoum had done a big tour in the Arab countries, including Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya and Morocco. All the benefits of this tour, including the concerts in Paris, went to the funds of the Egyptian state, as participation in the war effort.
