At 90, Nana Mouskouri will perform under the Arc de Triomphe on May 8, during the commemorations of the end of the Second world War. The opportunity to take an interest in the man who has shared his life for over twenty years: André Chapelle, her husband and faithful collaborator.
Nana Mouskouri is distinguished very early by her crystalline voice and her ability to sing in many languages. She became known in France in the 1960s thanks to titles like Cherry time or Love in inheritancebefore experiencing immense success abroad, especially in Germany, Canada and Japan. His career is marked by great loyalty to the scene and its audience, but also by a strong humanitarian commitment, as that ambassador of Unicef.
For all these years of career, the one that has survived pancreatic cancer has been accompanied by a man, a real pillar of his life. Musical producer by profession, André Chapelle crossed the singer’s route in the 1960s, when she started her ascent internationally. Very quickly, he became his main studio collaborator, supervising many recordings and accompanying his artistic development over several decades. Far from the spotlight, he nevertheless played a major role in the planetary success of the Greek star, whose career counts More than 1,500 titles and hundreds of millions of records sold around the world.
A hidden union
But beyond music, their relationship took a sentimental turn. When they meet, Nana Mouskouri is still married to Georges Petsilasguitarist of the group The Athenians, with whom she had two children, Nicolas and Hélène. Their union will last until 1975. It is over time, and far from looks, that the singer and her producer weave a more intimate relationship, nourished by their common passion for music and a great professional complicity. For a long time, they choose not to formalize their couple, preferring to preserve their intimacy. It was not until 2003, after several decades of discreet companionship, that they marry, during an intimate ceremony in Geneva.
Since then, André Chapelle has continued to accompany Nana Mouskouri in her projects, in the shadows but always present. At 90, the singer is about to sing for Francehis adopted country, during a solemn ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A moving performance alongside the Republican Guard, which should, as always, be supported behind the scenes by the one who has always supported her, on stage as in life.
