Piaf & Brel: the Impossible Concert is a delight to the ears.

French chanteuse Edith Piaf and Belgian singer Jacques Brel, two giants of romantic music in the 20^th century, never shared the stage together nor even met in their lifetimes. This simple historical fact does not phase Melanie Gall, an internationally-acclaimed vocalist who brings the most famous songs by these two artists together in a performance titled Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging musical, accompanied by insights into the two singers’ lives and Gall’s own unique (read: humorous) experiences as a performer.

Although her rendition of the opening song, Piaf’s “Milord”, is a bit uneven in volume, the rest of the songs performed more than make up for it. Gall’s renditions of Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (reportedly his fastest song) and “Amsterdam”, and Piaf’s “Padam, Padam” and “La Vie en Rose” are particularly noteworthy. In between these songs, Gall ensures that the audience is kept engaged through the stories of Piaf and Brel’s lives and of her own singing career. Her passion for the music of these singers is evident in how she speaks of them, and enriches the content of the show all the more. While a minor pause occurred when the sound cue for “Amsterdam” was delayed, Gall quickly recovered through brushing over it comically. Audience participation is also a nice feature of the show, as spectators are all invited to take part in her rendition of signature Piaf song “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien”. All in all, Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert is a delightful musical which provides a window onto two romantic icons of the past.

Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert continues at Studio Leonard-Beaulne in the University of Ottawa Theatre Department for the Ottawa Fringe Festival. For show times and tickets, see http://ottawafringe.com/shows/piaf-and-brel-the-impossible-concert/