Alain
Boublil:
Born in Tunisia, Alain Boublil emigrated to Paris at
the age of 18. He worked in music publishing before writing his first
lyrics for the French pop song world. After discovering the existence of
musical theatre, he started working with Claude-Michel Schönberg, another
composer inhibited by the three-minute song format. Over 20 years, their
partnership gave birth to La Revolution Française and the
award-winning Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Martin
Guerre. He has also produced with Claude-Michel the major cast albums
for all their shows. He lives in London with Marie and is the proud father
of four sons.
Anouar
Brahem:
The role of the Arabic, lute-like, stringed instrument, the oud, has been
revolutionized through the playing of Anouar Brahem. While used in the
past to accompany vocalists, the oud is used by Brahem as an imaginative
solo instrument. In 1988, Tunisian newspaper, "Tunis-Hebdo",
wrote, "If we had to elect the musician of the 80s, we would have,
without the least hesitation, chosen Anouar Brahem". Encouraged by
his music-loving father, Brahem began studying the oud, at the age of ten,
when he enrolled at the National Conservatory of Music. For nearly a
decade, he studied with influential oud player Ali Sitri. By the age of
fifteen, he was playing well enough to perform regularly with local
orchestras. Although he initially focused on Arabic music, Brahem
increasingly incorporated elements of jazz. This was enhanced during the
six years that he spent in Paris (1981--1987), performing at festivals and
collaborating with choreographer Maurice Bejart on a production, "A
Return To Carthage" that received the prestigous "National Award
Of Excellence In Music". Returning to Tunis in 1987, Brahem performed
at the Carthage Festival in the multi-artist production, "Ligua
85". Shortly afterwards, Braham agreed to become director of the
Ensemble Musical De In Ville De Tunis. During the two years that he
oversaw the ensemble, Brahem divided the group into smaller of various
sizes. Among the productions that he directed were "Leilatou Tayu"
and "El Hizam El Dhahbi". In 1990, Brahem resigned to focus on
his own career. After touring in the United States and Canada, he met and
was signed by Manfred Eicher, producer and founder of German record label,
ECM. His debut album, "Barzakh", released in 1991, was recorded
with Turkish musicians, Bechir Selmi and Lassad Hosni. In a review of the
album, German music magazine, "Stereo", wrote, "(Brahem) is
an exceptional musician and improviser". With his fifth effort for
the label, "Thimar", released in 1998, Brahem collaborated with
soprano saxophone and bass clarinet player Jon Surman and double bass
player Dave Holland. Brahem has composed numerous pieces for such films
and musical theater productions as "Sabots En Or", "Bezness",
"Halfaouine", "Les Silences Du Palais", "Lachou
Shakespeare", "Wannas El Kloub", El Amel", "Borj
El Hammam" and "Bosten Jamalek".
Claudia Cardinale: Born on the 15th of April 1939 in Tunis, Tunisia. In 1957, she won a beauty contest for “the Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunis”. Cardinale took acting lessons in Rome, she debuted in 1958's Les Noces Venetienne but made a much bigger impression in the international success Big Deal on Madonna Street later that year. Her career was orchestrated by producer Franco Cristaldi, who later married her. A prolific screen player, Cardinale starred or costarred in dozens of films-including some of the most distinguished Italian productions of the 1960s, such as Rocco and His Brothers (1960), The Leopard, (both 1963), Cartouche (1964), and, after her American sojourn, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Unlike many European sexpots of the 1960s, Cardinale remained active throughout the 1970s and 1980s, evolving gracefully into character roles. Her later films include The Red Tent (1971), Conversation Piece (1975), Escape to Athena (1979), The Gift (1982), Fitzcarraldo (also 1982, and one of her best, as the woman who never gives up on the dreamer played by Klaus Kinski), Henry IV (1984), History (1986), A Man in Love (1987, as Greta Scacchi's mother), and, almost thirty years after her appearance in the original, Son of the Pink Panther (1993).
Lotfi
Bouchnak: