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When the Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel had his American debut at Carnegie Hall on Dec. 4, 1965, his passionate lyrics and soulful delivery — by turns funny, poetic, heartbreaking, bitter, gentle and loving — “left his audience limp and in awe of an extraordinary ability,” wrote Robert Alden of The New York Times. One need not understand French, Alden continued, “to understand emotionally and to be swept along by what Mr. Brel had to say.”

The UB community will have the opportunity to sample Brel’s art and soaring melodies when the Caravague Company of Paris presents the musical show “Jacques Brel ou l’Impossible Rêve” (“Jacques Brel or the Impossible Dream”) at UB on April 25. Sponsors of the performance, to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in the Ellicott Complex, are Alliance Française de Buffalo (AFB), and UB’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and the Melodia E. Jones Chair of French, currently held by Anne E. Berger.

“Jacques Brel ou l’Impossible Rêve” is created and produced by André Nerman, in collaboration with Stéphanie Laurent, Shelly de Vito and Manon Conan. The show stars guitarist/actor/singer Nerman, along with singer Lucile and pianist/singer Laurent Clergeau. Through spoken dialogue and song, the show will dramatically recount Brel’s journey, his passions, sufferings, joys and dreams, from the difficult early years launching his career, to his triumphal appearance at Paris’ Olympia theater in 1961, to the worldwide acclaim for his literate, strikingly original compositions, to his feelings about life, death and his native Belgium.

“Jacques Brel is an absolutely seminal figure in the genesis and legacy of the chanson française,” says Amy Graves Monroe, associate professor of French and chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. “He’s like a Bob Dylan, a singer/songwriter of the best kind, where there’s not a lot of adornment. It’s a songwriting style that lays bare the song, the songwriter, his art and his singular performance. I think one of the things that attracts folks to Jacques Brel is not just the lyricism of his poetry, it’s also the tenor of his voice. Rarely do you find someone who can fit so much emotion into a single vocal phrase. Only people who have the utmost control and emotive capacity can really sing in this way.”

Beyond showcasing Brel’s art, the production offers an opportunity for campus-community exchange. “It’s very important for our students and faculty to connect with our community,” says Graves Monroe. “I think that’s one of the things the Alliance Française does quite well with its broad-based support for cultural activities more generally. They bring to life a sense of engagement with other cultures that I think is a wonderful model for our students.”

In support of this goal, her department is offering a limited number of free tickets to students in the department, and potentially to other UB students as well. (For a complimentary pass to the show, students are asked to email Patty Mietus, department administrator, at pamietus@buffalo.edu.)

At the April 25 concert, the trio of French musicians will perform about 20 of Brel’s songs, including such classics as “Ne me quitte pas,” “Amsterdam,” “Quand on n’a que l’amour” and “Madeleine.”

Songs like these demonstrate Brel’s authenticity, says Graves Monroe. “He never strains, he never overplays or oversells. …. I think that’s one of his greatest strengths.”

Born near Brussels in 1929, Brel had a meteoric career before his untimely death in 1978 at age 49. He sold millions of albums, and his stage appearances drew large, enthusiastic audiences — not only in France, but around the world. By 1967, Brel had retired from giving live performances to concentrate on recordings and pursue varied interests that included acting, sailing and flying. He appeared in 10 feature films and eventually moved to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, where he is buried. His final album, “Les marquises” (1977), was met with widespread acclaim.

“My father had a lot of personality, but this was just one side of him,” his daughter, France Brel, once remarked. “The other side was his sensitivity, his observation, his fragility. Both sides are there in his songs.”

Tickets to “Jacques Brel ou l’Impossible Rêve” are $30 for the general public, $25 for AFB members and $15 for full-time students, and may be  by April 21. Tickets at the door are $35 for the general public, $30 for AFB members and $15 for full-time students.