Pop Music : Kaas Transcends Language Barrier

Maybe Patricia Kaas actually has what it takes to break through the xenophobia that seems to grip American music fans when they hear a song in a foreign language.

The French singer’s program at the Henry Fonda Theatre on Friday was a performance tour de force--a cornucopia of emotionally charged readings that completely transcended the limitations of verbal expression.

Kaas, whose first single was produced by actor Gerard Depardieu, has developed a style that views pop music and jazz through the theatrical prism of her Gallic sensibilities.

“L’Heure du Jazz,” for example, was less about rhythm and improvisation than it was about the music’s dark and soaring inner spirit. And it was hardly necessary to understand the lyrics of “Ou Vont Les Coeurs Brises” (“Where do broken hearts go?”) to grasp the feeling of romantic loss.

Nor has Kaas’ firm connection with contemporary music diminished her skill with classic European repertoire. A starkly passionate a capella rendition of “Lili Marlene” was spine tingling. And surely no one since Edith Piaf has ever sung “La Vie en Rose” with a more penetrating awareness of its subtle undercurrents.

Will Kaas, 24, have better luck in this country than such similarly talented but sadly overlooked performers as Israel’s Ofra Haza, Germany’s Uwe Lemper and Brazil’s Margareth Menezes? It’s hard to say, but one thing’s for sure: She’s a world-class artist with enormous potential.