EVE Loiseau will sing the songs of Edith Piaf with Kneehigh Theatre's Fiona Barrow on violin and Murray Grainger on accordion at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday night.

This will be the sixth time Loiseau has paid tribute to the Little Sparrow at Helmsley in a show she has staged at more than 100 venues and festivals around Britain.

Piaf has become synonymous with French cabaret of the 1940s and 1950s and remains France’s most popular singer. Her rise to fame was the stuff of legend, as the Paris street urchin became an international star of international renown, but her life was anything but "La vie en rose". Towards the end, ravaged by pain and injury, Piaf turned to drugs to find comfort and solace, never able to believe that she was loved by countless fans the world over.

Eve Loiseau’s passion for Piaf was nurtured at a young age, around the dining table in South East France, where long summer meals were often rounded off with French chansons as she came from a family of singers.

Since her debut at the Royal Festival Hall in February 2002, Loiseau has given recitals in England, New York and France and has featured on BBC Radio Three and WNYC Radio and in the BBC production of The Roman Mysteries. She also performs with Canteve Vocale and the baroque ensemble Duo Dolcetini.

In Piaf, The Songs, Loiseau will sing the familiar French likes of La Vie En Rose, Sous Le Ciel De Paris, Milord, Autumn Leaves, Padam Padam, C’est Merveilleux, L’Accordéoniste and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

Tickets for Friday's 7.30pm concert are on sale on 01439 771700 or at helmsleyarts.co.uk/whats-on/piaf-the-songs. Loiseau also will perform at the University of Leeds International Concert Series in the School of Music's Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall on Saturday at 7.30pm; box office, 0113 3432584 or concerts.leeds.ac.uk/events/piaf-the-songs/