Théâtre de la Gaîté
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Théâtre de la Gaîté is a theatre on the boulevard du Temple in Paris. It opened in 1792 as the successor to the Théâtre des Grands-Danseurs du Roi directed by Jean-Baptiste Nicolet. The Grands-Danseurs du Roi were a troop created by Nicolet, which had obtained its royal title on 23 April 1772. Contrary to its name, it contained not only dancers but actors, tight-rope walkers, acrobats and artists in all performance genres.
Jean-Baptiste Nicolet had built the Théâtre de Nicolet and put on a spectacle to the taste of those who liked the 'Théâtre de la foire', and this attracted an increasing audience despite the complaints of the Comédie-Italienne, officially protected by their privilege granted by the king. In 1772, he obtained authorisation for his theatre to become the Théâtre des Grands Danseurs du Roi, in 1792 renaming it the Théâtre de la Gaîté and the company the Danseurs de la Gaîté. Entirely rebuilt on the same site, the theatre reopened on 3 November 1808. Burned down in 1835 during a dress rehearsal, it was again rebuilt on the same site.
Destroyed in 1861 by the construction of the boulevard Voltaire, the Théâtre de la Gaîté was rebuilt on rue Papin by the architect Alphonse Cusin. It was also known as the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique and was at its height during the Second French Empire. Jacques Offenbach was its director from 1872, and it became a temple to operetta until 1963. In 1918, the Ballets russes of Serge Diaghilev put their show on here, to great success and in the 1930s le Pays du Sourire, with Willy Thunis, was put on here.
After the Second World War, Henri Montjoye and his wife Germaine Roger became the theatre's directors. Numerous successes were put on : Andalousie, Chevalier du Ciel and Visa pour l'amour with Luis Mariano, Collorado with Michel Dens, Minnie Moustache with les compagnons de la Chanson. In 1974, the Carré Silvia-Monfort and the first circus school based themselves here for a time.
Closed since 1989 due to bankruptcy, from 1989 to 1991 the theatre was largely destroyed and transformed into an amusement park by Jean Chalopin. The main auditorium, holding 1500, and the orchestra pit large enough for 40 musicians were among the parts of the building lost at this time. The Mairie de Paris is now renovating it into an arts and modern music centre, the work due to be completed in November 2009.
Premieres
- 1872: Jacques Offenbach's opéra-bouffe-féerie Le roi Carotte
- 1874: Offenbach's revised Opéra-féerie version of Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld)
- 1875: Offenbach's revised Opéra-bouffe version of Geneviève de Brabant
- 1875: Offenbach's opéra-féerie Le voyage dans la lune
See also
