Billie Holiday · Légende noire

The Philharmonie is dedicating an exhibition to Billie Holiday, bringing her voice into dialogue with documents tracing her career and artworks inspired by her. Entitled Légende noire, this retrospective uses her songs and memoirs as guiding threads to revisit an artist too often reduced to the tragic story of her life. The exhibition follows her journey from her childhood in Baltimore to her final European tours, keeping her musical work at the forefront.

Through her distinctive tone and the way she shifts the accents within a phrase, Billie Holiday treats the voice as an instrument. The exhibition explores her art of interpretation and her exchanges with the musicians around her, notably Lester Young and Teddy Wilson. Her influence extends beyond vocal jazz: the freedom of her phrasing has shaped instrumentalists and singers alike in subsequent generations.

The power of that voice is also evident in Strange Fruit, a song condemning lynchings in the southern United States. The exhibition connects this stance to the racist violence Holiday experienced, without allowing events in her private life to overshadow the richness of her work. It examines how her public image took shape through political engagement, celebrity and sensationalist press coverage.

Works by Niki de Saint Phalle, Romare Bearden, Mickalene Thomas, Barthélemy Toguo and Raphaël Barontini extend this story into the visual arts. Their inclusion reveals how Billie Holiday continues to inspire beyond music. The exhibition is curated by Vincent Bessières, with Éva Barois De Caevel as associate curator.

Practical information
- In the exhibition space in the Philharmonie building.
- Tuesday to Friday, 12 pm to 6 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.
- Closed on Mondays and 1 May.
- The ticket includes admission to the permanent collection of the Musée de la musique.