Le Divan du Monde ('The World Divan') is a converted theatre, now functioning as a concert space, located at 75 rue des Martyrs, in the

18th arrondissement The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondis ...

, in the Pigalle neighborhood of Paris.

History

At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a ballroom called the Saint-Flour Musette. In 1861 it was turned into the Brasserie des Martyrs, which was patronized by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

, and

Jules Vallès Jules Vallès (11 June 1832 – 14 February 1885) was a French journalist, author, and left-wing political activist. Early life Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies (''pion''), later a teac ...

. This was replaced in 1873 by a café-concert christened the "Divan Japonais" ('Japanese Divan') by its owner Théophile Lefort, who decorated it in Japanese-style. His successor, Jules Sarrazin, had a second room built in the basement called "Temple de la Bonne Humeur" ('Temple of Good Mood'). Lautrec divan japonais (poster) c1892-3

The cabaret singer

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the ''Belle Époque''. Biography Born in Paris into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert be ...

became famous there when she appeared in 1891 and

Dranem Dranem (23 May 1869 – 13 October 1935) was a French comic singer, music hall, stage and film actor. History Born Armand Ménard, in Paris, he began working as an apprentice jeweler in a local shop before embarking on a career in entertainment ...

was also a featured artist. The pantomime ''Le Coucher de la Mariée'' (''The Bride Going to Bed'') was performed there in 1894. This included for the first time a "naked" woman (i.e. wearing a somewhat transparent blouse), which scandalized the audience.

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the la ...

and Adolphe Léon Willette, then

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, were frequent visitors. In 1901, the Divan became the Théâtre de la Comédie Mondaine. It was later replaced by an erotic theatre. In 1994, it was reopened as Le Divan du Monde ('The World Divan'), featuring world music concerts of all genres. The Hip Hop dancers Bintou Dembélé performed there in the late 1990s. In November 2009, it was completely redecorated, and now hosts events from concerts to club nights.

References

;Notes

External links

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"Strip Tease 1897" Alice Guy premier strip-tease de l'histoire du cinema "Le coucher d'Yvette" 1897, accessed 8 August 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Divan Theatres in Paris Buildings and structures in the 18th arrondissement of Paris Music venues in France