The Théâtre des Variétés () is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974.
History The theatre owed its creation to Mademoiselle Montansier (Marguerite Brunet). Imprisoned for debt in 1803 and frowned upon by the government, a decree of 1806 ordered her company to leave the Théâtre du Palais-Royal which then bore the name of "Variétés". The decree's aim was to move out Montansier's troupe to make room for the company from the neighbouring Théâtre-Français, which had stayed empty even as the Variétés-Montansier had enjoyed immense public favour. Strongly unhappy about having to leave the theatre by 1 January 1807, the 77-year-old Montansier gained an audience with Napoleon himself and received his help and protection. She thus reunited the "Société des Cinq", which directed her troupe, in order to found a new theatre, the one which stands at the side of the passage des Panoramas. It was inaugurated on 24 June 1807.Charlton, David. Paris. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997, 4, vii, p.873 'Théâtre des Variétés'.
The liberalisation of the regulations of Parisian theatres in 1864 led the management of the Variétés to stage several key works by Offenbach. The composer seized the opportunities in the new legal framework to present his work to different audiences beyond the Bouffes-Parisiens, and the final six years of the Empire marked the high-point of his career, with La belle Hélène and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein premiered there. The theatre also witnessed the first success in operetta of Charles Lecocq.L'Epine, Bérengère de and Girard, Pauline. Rire et subversion ? L’opérette sous le Second Empire. In: Les spectacles sous le second Empire, ed Jean-Claude Yon. Armand Colin, Paris, 2010, p.322-323.
Suzanne Lagier made her début there at the age of thirteen in 1846, in the show Veuve de quinze ans, a role which was written for her by Pierre Adolphe Capelle. Ève Lavallière appeared in operettas and plays there from 1892 for twenty years in works by Offenbach, Feydeau and Audran. Albert Brasseur was a member of the Variétés company from 1891 playing in many productions including several Offenbach works La Vie parisienne, Les Brigands, La Belle Hélène and Orphée aux EnfersNoël and Stoullig. Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique (1893), p. 256. and many plays by Feydeau.Parker, John. Who's Who in the Theatre. London 4th edition, 1922, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, p.910-911.
The theatre plays a prominent role in Émile Zola's 1880 novel, Nana, as the establishment in which the title character achieves celebrity with the premiere of La Blonde Vénus at the Théâtre des Variétés in April 1867 in the opening chapters.Joyce, John-Pierre. Enfolding the Action - Zola at the opera. Opera, July 2023, Vol.74, No.7, p.798.
Other activities In 2012 the theatre began to host technical conferences such as dotJS or dotScale.
Premieres at the theatre
1833: La Modiste et le Lord, 2-act opera by Auguste Pilati 1856: L'Amour et Psyché, 1 act opera by Auguste Pilati 1864: La belle Hélène, opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy 1866: Barbe-bleue by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy 1867: La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy 1868: La Périchole, opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy 1869: Les brigands, opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy 1877: Le docteur Ox, opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Arnold Mortier and Philippe Gille 1883: Mam'zelle Nitouche, vaudeville-operette by Hervé 1907: L'Enfant prodigue, the first feature-length European film, directed by Michel Carré, fils 1923: Ciboulette, operetta by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset 1946: César by Marcel Pagnol, after his film of the same name
Directors
1807–19 : Mlle Montansier 1820–30 : Mira Brunet 1930–36 : Armand Dartois 1836 : Jean-François Bayard 1837–39 : Philippe Pinel-Dumanoir 1839 : Jouslin de la Salle 1840 : M. Leroy 1840–47 : Nestor Roqueplan 1847–49 : M. Morin 1849–51 : M. Thibeaudeau-Milon (M. Bowes, proprietor) 1851–54 : M. Carpier (M. Bowes, proprietor) 1855 : MM. Laurencin & Zacheroni (M. Bowes, proprietor) 1855 : Hippolyte & Théodore Cogniard 1856–69 : Hippolyte Cogniard & Jules Noriac 1869–91 : Eugène Bertrand 1892–1914 : Fernand Samuel 1914–40 : Max Maurey 1940–43 : Émile Petit 1944–45 : Max Maurey & Émile Petit 1946–47 : Max & Denis Maurey 1947–75 : Denis & Marcel Maurey 1975–89 : Jean-Michel Rouzière 1989–91 : Francis Lemonnier 1991–2004 : Jean-Paul Belmondo since 2005 : Jean-Manuel Bajen
References
External links
Official website