album rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Chanson française / chanson poétique. Rupture is a studio album by Serge Reggiani (born Sergio Reggiani, Reggio Emilia, Italy, 2 May 1922 – Paris, 23 July 2004), released in October 1971 on Polydor France. Reggiani was a uniquely bifurcated artistic figure: a celebrated Italian-French film actor for more than two decades before embarking, at the age of 43, on a second career as a singer of French chanson. Born in Italy, he moved to France with his family at age eight, trained at the Paris Conservatoire, was discovered by Jean Cocteau, joined the French Resistance during the Occupation, and built a distinguished acting career that included films by Marcel Carné, Max Ophüls, Luchino Visconti and Jean-Pierre Melville — Casque d'Or (1952), Les Misérables (1958), Le Doulos (1963) and The Leopard (1963). It was his friends Simone Signoret and Yves Montand who encouraged him to begin singing, and the friendship of the singer Barbara gave him artistic direction. His rough, expressive voice — darker and more weathered than the conventional chanson tenor — gave his interpretations a particular gravity. His first album in 1965 was a major success, selling over 200,000 copies, with songs contributed by Serge Gainsbourg ('Maxim's') and future regular lyricist Jean-Loup Dabadie ('Le Petit garçon'). Reggiani quickly became one of the preeminent performers of French chanson and a popular figure with both young and older audiences. Rupture belongs to the period of his most sustained creative output on Polydor. The Universal Music France biography notes that for the 1971 album, it was Michel Legrand who orchestrated the arrangements for sixty musicians. The album contains thirteen tracks, including the title song 'Rupture', 'L'Absence', 'La Putain', 'Comme elle est longue à mourir ma jeunesse', 'Va-t'en savoir pourquoi', 'Ma fille', 'Dans ses yeux', 'L'Italien', 'Édith', 'La Cinquantaine', 'Parler d'amour' and 'Un taxi passe'. 'L'Italien', which reflects on Reggiani's own identity as a Franco-Italian figure, and 'Ma fille' are among the most lauded songs on the album.
Label: Polydor (France), released October 1971. Catalogue: 2473 010.
Producer: Not individually credited in publicly available sources. Musical arrangements: Michel Legrand (orchestra of sixty musicians).
Recording studio: Not individually specified in publicly available sources; recorded in France.
Critical reception: Rupture was received as part of Reggiani's most prolific and celebrated period as a singer-interpreter of chanson. The SensCritique platform gives the album a score of 7.7 with 'Rupture', 'L'Absence', 'Ma fille' and 'L'Italien' ranked among its highest-rated tracks. The Universal Music France biography describes Reggiani at this time as 'chanteur engagé et révolté' ('an engaged and rebellious singer') and notes that his rugged image made him popular with younger audiences alongside the traditional chanson public. The richness of the orchestral arrangements by Michel Legrand for sixty musicians distinguished the album's sound.
Commercial success: Reggiani was one of the most commercially successful and artistically respected chanson performers of the 1970s. His first album (1965) had already sold over 200,000 copies, and Polydor released a continuous stream of his recordings through the 1970s. Subsequent Polydor releases included Bon à tirer (1973) and La chanson de Paul (1975), the latter tied to a theatrical production. Reggiani was inducted as a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and his legacy as one of the major interpreters of French chanson of the twentieth century remains firmly established.
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