Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre Musical de Paris | |
Owner | City of Paris |
---|---|
Capacity | 2,500 |
Construction | |
Opened | 1862 |
Architect | Gabriel Davioud |
Website | |
chatelet-theatre |
The Théâtre du Châtelet (French pronunciation: [teɑtʁ dy ʃɑtlɛ]) is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the
Description
The theatre is one of two apparent twins constructed along the quays of the
Origins
The Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet was built for
The site for the new theatre was acquired by the
The theatre originally seated 2,200 people, although Haussmann claimed it held 3,600.
Hostein left as director in September 1868. Nestor Roqueplan ran the theatre from 1 July 1869 to April 1870.[1]
Fall of the Second Empire
The theatre was closed from September 1870 to July 1871 due to the Franco-Prussian War. The war brought about the fall of the Second French Empire, and under the succeeding French Third Republic, the appellation impérial was dropped. Hippolyte Hostein returned as the theatre's director in 1873–1874.[1]
Notably, beginning in April 1876, the stage version of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, adapted by Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery, began a run spanning sixty-four years and 2,195 performances (although not continuously). It was only the Nazi occupation of Paris in May 1940 that closed this production permanently.[4]
Twentieth century
Into the 20th century, the theatre was used for operettas, variety and ballet performances, for classical and popular music concerts. It was also, for a time, a cinema. Claude Debussy's Le Martyre de saint Sébastien received its premiere in the theatre on 22 May 1911. It was the first venue for the Ballets Russes, before they moved to the new théâtre des Champs-Élysées with their 1913 season: among the ballets premiered at the Châtelet are Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka on 13 June 1911, Paul Dukas' La Péri on 22 April 1912, Vaslav Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun on 29 May 1912, Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé on 8 June 1912, and Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau's Parade on 18 May 1917. In addition, many foreign composers and conductors made appearances in the theatre, including Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.
Since 1979, the theatre has been operated by the City of Paris, and, after undergoing a major restoration, re-opened in 1980 under the name Théâtre Musical de Paris. It was acoustically re-modeled again in 1989 and reverted to the Théâtre du Châtelet name.
Under the artistic direction of Stéphane Lissner from 1995 to 1999, the theatre received additional improvements in acoustics and sight lines.
Twenty-first century
In 2004,
In 2017, Choplin was succeeded by
When the theatre re-opened in 2019, Mackenzie and Lauriot dit Prévost introduced a “Robin Hood scheme” for theatregoers and sponsors to buy extra tickets for those who cannot afford them.[8]
In 2019, Comme des Garçons launched a fragrance called "Odeur Du Théâtre Du Châtelet Acte I" created by Caroline Dumur inspired by the history of the theatre mixed with the modernity of its new creative director Ruth Mackenzie.[9]
Since the 2019 edition, the ceremony of the Ballon d'Or is held every year at the venue.[10]
On 28 August 2020 it was announced that Théâtre du Châtelet had fired Ruth Mackenzie as artistic director, with an unnamed source suggesting a managerial problem with the staff and a financial problem due to an insufficient artistic season.[11] In response, Mackenzie confirmed an inquiry into her performance had been carried out, but stated that it had not uncovered evidence of wrongdoing.[12] General director Thomas Lauriot dit Prévost remained in his post.
Between September 2020 and January 2022, multiple productions were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[13]
On 24 February 2022, 32 dancers of the Kyiv City Ballet were stranded in Paris due to the
Notes
- ^ a b c d Wild 1989, p. 76.
- ^ According to a document in the Archives Nationales, the theatre seated 2,200 (Wild 1989, p. 76).
- ^ Wild 1989, p. 77.
- ^ History of the production on anao.pagesperso-orange.fr
- ^ Roslyn Sulcas, "Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris Gets Its First Female Artistic Director", The New York Times, 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Meet the British woman on a mission to shake up French theatre". TheLocal.fr. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "The Châtelet Theatre (Paris) to be restored to its Napoleon III style". napoleon.org. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ Willsher, Kim (8 September 2019). "'It belongs to the people': new life for British director's Paris theatre". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "Odeur Du Théâtre Du Châtelet (200ml) – Eau de Parfum". Comme des Garçons. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
- ^ Kelly, Ryan (30 October 2023). "Ballon d'Or 2023: Date, time, nominees, live stream & how to watch France Football award ceremony". Goal. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Paris theatre parts company with British artistic director". France24. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ Willsher, Kim (28 August 2020). "Ruth Mackenzie hits out at 'brutal' dismissal from Paris's Châtelet theatre". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "Mogador, Châtelet : vague d'annulations dans les théâtres à Paris à cause du Covid". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ Williams, Jessie (2022-06-17). "The show must go on: Ukrainian ballet dancers, now refugees in Paris, vow to keep dancing for their country". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
Bibliography
- Allison, John, ed.(2003). Great Opera Houses of the World, supplement to Opera Magazine, London.
- Wild, Nicole (1989). Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens au XIXe siècle: les théâtres et la musique. Paris: Aux Amateurs de livres. ISBN 978-2-905053-80-0(paperback).