The artist, whose biopic will be released in theaters on October 23, lived for nearly thirty years in Mouriès, near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where, from his olive trees, he extracted an exceptional olive oil.
The Provençal-style property was large but without ostentation. It nevertheless contained a “priceless treasure”as Charles Aznavour liked to say. A 600-foot, bicentennial olive grove that he named The Gardens of Yerevan, in homage to his Armenian roots. It is here that for twenty-seven years, the artist with 180 million records sold lived as a full citizen and passionately produced 300 to 500 liters of exceptional olive oil each year.
In the heart of the Alpilles, the singer led another life as simple as discreet far from showbiz and glitter, sometimes surprising himself by being faithful for so long to this land of Provence, he the exile, the tireless nomad.
In his veiled and vibrant voice, he confided widely to Midi Libre about his passion for olive oil: “I think what I like most about all this is the way I treat and cultivate the olive trees. I take care of them while respecting nature. I water them with drips and I I installed a mist in water found in a source 120 m away, which caresses the top when it is hot. I pay attention to everything, from picking by hand to the dark bottle which allows for better conservation. ‘oil.”
Every fall, the singer invited his friends from the Alpilles and those of song and cinema for a day of picking and a friendly meal. Sometimes, they were the same ones, like his neighbors Jean Reno, Patrick Bruel or Chico.
Chico: “We were partying for everything and nothing”
Chico is inexhaustible when it comes to talking about his friend Charles Aznavour. Their friendship goes back to the Tropezian evenings at Eddy Barclay, almost forty years ago, which Chico hosted at the time. Then the two artists crossed paths on the international scene, before hanging out a lot in the Alpilles. “There, we never left each other. We saw each other several times a week. We used to go to lunch in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, at Marie’s bistro. We celebrated for everything and for Nothing.”
The Aznavour of showbiz and that of the Alpilles were not “so different than that. He was someone who possessed extraordinary kindness. He always had a kind word. He called me, he said to me: “What are you doing?” and we would go to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue to go flea market or he would take me to inaugurate a TV show in Tunisia, for example, or come with us to do a promo at Michel Drucker’s. The two men, beyond their lives as artists, have this “common humanist soul. He was, like me, an ambassador for peace, a very tolerant person.”
Aznavour loved coming to the Patio de Camargue, the place for parties and shows in Chico, in Arles. “We have a tavern on the banks of the Rhône. When he came there for lunch, he said to me: “I have a boat, I’m going to come and put it here and we’ll be happy there”. He always had incredible plans.” Another time, he sang with us in Collioure, at a party. One of his friends was surprised that he did it. “Charles never sang off stage. I went to ask him why and he told me, laughing: “You know, only birds sing for free.”
Since he left, “I miss his kindness, his smile and his voice. Charles was the voice of the heart.”
A simple life without worldliness
But what Charles Aznavour preferred was walking with his granddaughter among the olive trees. “I love it when she says to me: “Grandpa, it’s even more beautiful than yesterday”he told us.
The artist lived in a completely different decorum than that of showbiz, with a simple life, without worldliness, in a setting of scrubland landscapes. His days passed between this great passion and its little rituals. Every lunchtime, he had lunch at the Paradou bistro, very often with his friend and confidant Jean-Louis Auvergne, who died a few months ago.
There was his reserved table, in a discreet corner very close to the kitchens. He loved Vincent’s simple and authentic cooking, like the chops grilled on vine branches.
Jean-Louis Auvergne told Midi Libre about his friendship with the great Charles, of whom he had become one of the closest, before becoming his legal advisor: “He came to the house all the time. On weekends he said to me: “What are we doing? Where are we going to eat?” I probably knew him at the best time of his life. He had a healthy life and he was a simple man. He was like stones which, by rolling in water, become rounded.
And then in those twenty-seven years, Aznavour had left his years of Parisian excesses, Tropezian trips and sleepless nights behind. He preferred good food without fuss, with friends, at one another’s homes or at a good local restaurant. “A meal with friends is always a great moment of exchange and complicity,” he said.
Charles the gastronome readily responded to invitations, as in 2016 when an Armenian restaurateur invited him to his modest establishment near Placette, in Nîmes. But he also didn’t mind tasting the cuisine of a star chef like that of Jérôme Nutile, at the time he worked in Collias.
His Provençal paradise
At Grau-du-Roi, he had become friends with Pierrot Péroni, a fairground worker whose wandering life probably reminded him of his own. He used to share a platter of oysters or enjoy Pierrot’s son’s bouillabaisse, on the table covered with oilcloth. Him, the artist of a thousand songs who had his star on Hollywood Boulevard. “He didn’t think he was a star. He was someone who loved to laugh and was interested in people, while remaining discreet. He appreciated our fairground way of life”Pierrot Péroni told Midi Libre.
Charles Aznavour finished the novel of his life in his house in the Alpilles, his Provençal paradise, on October 1, 2018. A few months later, the property was sold with the 600 feet of olive trees, its “priceless treasure”.
Tahar Rahim plays “Monsieur Aznavour”
Grand Corps Maladie and Mehdi Idir directed this biopic on Charles Aznavour with Tahar Rahim in the role of the singer. We discover the exceptional journey of this artist, son of Armenian immigrants who, through hard work and perseverance, became one of the most famous and admired French artists.
Theatrical release October 23.
