Clémence DesRochers

Acting, Monologues and Recordings

Entering the Conservatoire after an education at the École normale and a very brief teaching experience, Clémence DesRochers took her first steps with Paul Buissonneau's La Roulotte company. In 1957 Jacques Normand introduced her to the public at his Montreal cabaret, the St-Germain-des-Prés. The following year, she wrote her first monologue, Ce que toute jeune fille devrait savoir, ou Mon entrée à Radio-Canada. Oddly, satire opened the doors for her to the emerging medium of television and also assured her a place with the Bozos (1959), a cabaret troupe that included Claude Léveillée, Jean-Pierre Ferland, Jacques Blanchet, Raymond Lévesque and André Gagnon. DesRochers opened some boîtes à chansons in Montreal and in the suburbs (La Boîte à Clémence, La Barre 500 and, with Yvon Deschamps, Le Fournil). In 1966 DesRochers took part, along with Claude Gauthier, Pauline Julien, and Gilles Vigneault, in a show at the Olympia in Paris.

In 1964 DesRochers wrote the libretto for Pierre Brault’s Le Vol rose du flamant, considered the first musical comedy written in Quebec. Brault subsequently composed the music for most of her songs. Among her works are the books and lyrics for numerous revues: La Grosse Tête (music by Brault, 1967), Les Girls (music by François Cousineau, 1968), La Belle Amanchure (music by Jacques Crevier, 1970), and C'est pas une revue, c't'un show (1971). These shows were presented in a small hall, Le Patriote à Clémence, located above the Patriote in Montreal. Les Girls, in particular, which toured Quebec, made a profound mark on the history of Quebec entertainment and, before the feminist wave of the 1970s, was the first show entirely produced by Quebec women to poke fun at women's issues. The five "Girls," Clémence DesRochers, Chantal Renaud, Diane Dufresne, Paule Bayard and Louise Latraverse, angered some by shattering the genteel image traditionally imposed on actresses and female singers at the time.

DesRochers was inactive 1971–72 but returned in 1973 to work as host and author for CBC TV. She appeared 1975–76 at Le Patriote and the Outremont cinema in Montreal, at the Grand Théâtre in Quebec City, and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. An irony of sorts, Le Monde aime mieux Mireille Mathieu (1975) was Clémence DesRochers' first great recording success. A tour took her to northern Quebec in 1976. From 1976 to 1979 her appearance as host of CBC's "Trouvailles de Clémence" confirmed her success as a popular figure. In 1977 she presented Mon dernier show, at the Outremont, announcing her retirement from the stage. In early 1980, Renée Claude premiered the show Moi, c'est Clémence que j'aime le mieux, composed of her songs, which was performed again at the Petit Champlain de Québec and at the Transit in Old Montreal, and recorded on the Pro-Culture label.

Contrary to her previous announcement, Clémence made a stage comeback in 1980 in Montreal, at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and subsequently at l'Arlequin, with C'est mon dernier show 2. This was followed by Plus folle que jamais (1983), Le Derrière d'une étoile (1985), and J'ai show (1989). She had recorded the program "Superstar" at the CBC in 1981. DesRochers continued to work with Radio-Canada in the late 1990s, hosting the programs "Les p'tits bonheurs de Clémence" (1995-8) and "Le monde de Clémence" (1999).

In her monologues and songs, this artist, affectionately called Clémence by everyone, handles satire and caricature zestfully, and her humour can be caustic; but she can be candid, too, and tender, even romantic. Critic Georges-Hébert Germain lauded her work in La Presse (Montreal, 4 March 1976):

"Once again it was you who developed this formula of monologue and performance. You remain the most brilliant portraitist of Quebec women. You are like a mirror in which they can look at themselves, admire themselves or touch up their makeup if needed. It’s the soul of Quebec that is revealed in your monologues and songs. It’s our realities, our dreams, our emotions."

Luc Plamondon, who compares her to Germaine Guèvremont and Michel Tremblay, has written that she was "the first to write in the spoken Quebec language, structured coherently and transposed to a poetic level" (preface to J'hais écrire by Clémence DesRochers, Montreal 1986). Among her most successful songs are "L'Homme de ma vie," music by Pierre Brault; "Avec les mots d'Alfred," by Marc Larochelle; "La Chaloupe Verchères," by Gaston Brisson; and "La Vie d'factrie," by Jacques Fortier. Frequent reference has been made to the connection between her songs and that of the group Beau Dommage of the 1970s . Edith Butler, Renée Claude, Jacqueline Dulac, Lucille Dumont, Louise Forestier, Pauline Julien, Claude Léveillée, Marie Savard and Fabienne Thibeault have performed her songs.

Published Works

Clémence DesRochers is the author of some ten books published in Montreal from 1966 to 1986 of short stories, poems, songs, monologues, drawings, excerpts from her revues, and a play (La Deuxième, commissioned in 1976 by the students of the National Theatre School). Notable works include the poetry collection Nos mères, an album of text and drawings called Les animaux de mon rang and an illustrated calendar (C’est la fête à qui aujourd’hui?).

In Television and Cinema

Clémence DesRochers appeared on television in La Famille Plouffe and other television dramas, and portrayed Mademoiselle Sainte-Bénite in the youth program Grujot et Délicat, for which she wrote alternating scripts with Jean Besré. She was also the host of two popular daily shows, Les trouvailles de Clémence (1976–79) and Les p'tits bonheurs de Clémence in 1995, that were highly acclaimed and in which she introduced more than 85 Quebec artisans.

In 1999, Clémence DesRochers wrote and presented the musical Les girls à Clémence, which toured throughout Quebec and was followed in 2000 by Les girls reclémencent. That same year, she won the Olivier-Guimond Award for lifetime achievement. She released several recordings in the following years, including a DVD of her shows.

The actress starred in the acclaimed film La grande séduction (Seducing Doctor Lewis, 2003), which earned her a Jutra Award (now named Iris Awards) for Best Supporting Actress, and in the film Le secret de ma mère (A Family Secret, 2006).

In October 2008, Clémence DesRochers bowed out and undertook a series of performances with her farewell show Mes classiques en musique. She continues to write and paint and is also very active in preserving her beautiful corner of the country, Lake Memphremagog.

Honours

Clémence DesRochers received the Jacques-Blanchet medal in 1983 and was named docteur honoris causa at the Université de Sherbrooke in 1994. She was awarded the Denise-Pelletier Award in 2005, the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, the Sylvain Lelièvre Award (Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec) and SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Clémence DesRochers is both a chevalière of the Ordre national du Québec (2001) and an Officer of the Order of Canada (2010).

A version of this entry originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.

Selected Discography

• Clémence DesRochers vol 1. (1962)
• Le Vol rose du flamant (1964)
• Clémence sans pardon (1966)
• La Belle Amanchure (1971)
• Il faut longtemps d'une âpre solitude pour assembler un poème à l'amour (1973)
• Comme un miroir (1975)
• Je t'écris pour te dire (1974–75)
• Mon dernier show (1977)
• Les Chansons retrouvailles (1981)
• Plus folle que jamais (1983)