English actress and singer Jane Birkin was the star of last night’s concert in Warsaw’s National Opera held under the motto ‘Chopin inspires Gainsbourg’.

Birkin was discovered by the composer and singer Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991). In 1969 their song Je t'aime... moi non plus became an instant hit. She also sang two other Gainsbourg’s songs Jane B and La Javanaise. His songs were also performed by Claire Denamur, a French artist of Dutch-Argentinian ancestry, and Poland’s Gaba Kulka.

The works of Chopin were performed by the Andrzej Jagodziński Jazz Trio and the pianist Jan Krzysztof Broja.

The concert was followed by a charity reception and an art auction under the patronage of the First Lady Maria Kaczyńska. The proceeds from the events will go for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

The concert, co-organized by the French and Swiss Embassies and the French Institute in Warsaw, rounded off the ten-day long Francophonic Festival. (mk)