French singer with Armenian roots Hélène Ségara is recognized as the best performer of the role of Esmeralda in the famous French musical “Notre Dame de Paris.”
The singer who conquered France with her tender voice was born in 1971 in the commune of Six-Fours-les-Plages near Toulon. Helene’s father is Italian and mother is Armenian. The ancestors of Hélène Ségara’s mother Teresa Kasbarian had settled in France in the years of the Armenian Genocide.
Hélène was raised in an Armenian environment without a father. Her maternal grandfather and grandmother supported her in her desire to become a singer, helping the girl to take part in various children’s and youth competitions.
At the age of 16, Helen decided to move to Paris to start a serious musical career. In a short time, she managed to go through difficult auditions in the capital of France and record one of her most popular singles – the song “I love you, goodbye” (“Je vous aime adieu”).
Subsequently, the girl with Armenian roots was expected to become a great success. The beginnings of her career were the release of her first album “Glass Heart” (“Coeur de verre”), a duet with Andrea Bochelli for the famous song “I live for her” (“Vivo Per Lei”) distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies, and participation in many well-known musical projects.
In 1997, Hélène received the role of Esmeralda in the musical “Notre Dame de Paris” written by Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante. The popularity of the musical and its television version surpassed all expectations and broke world records of popularity, and Hélène became a star of world magnitude.
After the success of Esmeralda, Hélène Ségara was invited to perform the song “Away from the cold of December” (“Loin du froid de décembre”) in the animated musical fantasy drama “Anastasia” (1997). In 2004, at the anniversary evening on the occasion of Charles Aznavour’s 80th birthday in Paris, the legendary Aznavour entrusted Hélène Ségara with performing his own song “For You, Armenia” (“Pour toi, Armenie”) together with an Armenian children’s choir.
Currently, the 46-year-old singer tours the world with her new solo project. She has three children. Hélène Ségara has visited her historic homeland Armenia more than once. According to her, to be Armenian means to show oneself by helping others.
