The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, situated near the junction of the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panorama, which opened in 1883. The panorama was converted to the Théâtre Marigny in 1894 by the architect Édouard Niermans and became a home to operetta and other musical theatre.

Panorama

An earlier theatre on the site, the Salle Lacaze, became known in 1855, as the home of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with a ...

, where he first built his reputation as a theatre composer. In 1864 this became the

Théâtre des Folies-Marigny The Théâtre des Folies-Marigny, a former Parisian theatre with a capacity of only 300 spectators, was built in 1848 by the City of Paris for a magician named Lacaze and was originally known as the Salle Lacaze. It was located at the east end o ...

, which was demolished in 1881, giving way to a panorama built by Charles Garnier. In 1885, dioramas on Paris through the ages by Theodor Josef Hubert Hoffbauer (1839–1922), and on

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on the day of the death of Christ, by Olivier Pichat, were displayed.

Theatre

In 1894, Édouard Niermans converted the venue into a theatre-in-the-round for summer musical spectacles. The hall was enlarged and modernized in 1925 by Volterra, and in that form opened with a revival of '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' by

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

. This success led the management to devote the venue mainly to operetta and other musical theatre until the 1930s. Thereafter the Marigny mounted boulevard shows and revivals (such as

's '' La Créole'' by in 1936). In 1946 the Théâtre Marigny welcomed a troupe from the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

to form the

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

- Barrault company, and in 1954, Barrault opened a smaller "Petit Marigny". The Grenier-Hussenot troupe followed and later the hall became a cinema. In 1965 the direction passed to

Elvira Popescu Elvira Popescu (; in French, Elvire Popesco; 10 May 1894 – 11 December 1993) was a Romanian-French stage and film actress and theatre director. During the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in a number of French comedy films. Life and career Pop ...

; in 1978 she was succeeded by John Bodson. In 2000 the theatre was acquired by the Artemis Group, owned by

François Pinault François Pinault (born 21 August 1936) is a French billionaire businessman, founder of the luxury group Kering and the investment holding company Artémis. Pinault started his business in the timber industry in the early 1960s. Taken public in ...

, who asked

Robert Hossein Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in '' Vice and Virtue'', '' Le Casse'', '' Les Uns et les Autres'' and '' ...

to take over the theatre's direction. In 2008 Hossein retired and was replaced by

Pierre Lescure Pierre Lescure (born 2 July 1945) is a French journalist and television executive. He is known for having founded the French TV music show ''Les Enfants du rock'' broadcast on public television from 1981 to 1988 and for having led the French Cana ...

. On 28 September 2006 Pinault and his wife put the entire facility at the disposal of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for its 20th anniversary celebration.

Musical theatre repertory

*''J'te veux'' (12 February 1923) *'' Monsieur Beaucaire'' (20 November 1925) *''Venise'' by Tiarko Richepin (25 June 1927) *''Le diable à Paris'' by Marcel Lattes (27 October 1927) (with

Raimu Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César''). Life and career Born in T ...

Edmée Favart Edmée Favart (1879 – 29 October 1941) was a French soprano who had a varied and major career in opera and opéra comique and left many recordings of songs from roles she performed on stage. Life and career Favart was born in Paris, the dau ...

) *'' Coups de roulis'' by Messager (29 September 1928) *''Boulard et ses filles'' by

Charles Cuvillier Charles Cuvillier (24 April 1877 – 14 February 1955) was a French composer of operetta. He won his greatest successes with the operettas ''La reine s'amuse'' (1912, played as ''The Naughty Princess'' in London) and with '' The Lilac Domino'', ...

(8 November 1929) *''

Madame Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

'' by

Leo Fall Leopold Fall (2 February 187316 September 1925) was an Austrian Kapellmeister and composer of operettas. Life Born in Olmütz (Olomouc), Leo (or Leopold) Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall (1848–1922), a bandmaster and composer, who sett ...

(16 May 1930) (with René Hérent, Robert Burnier) *''Moineau'' by Louis Beydts (13 March 1931) *''La belle saison'' by Jean Delettre (29 June 1937) (with Lucienne Boyer) *''Mes amours'' by Oscar Strauss (2 May 1940) *'' Un violon sur le toit'' (8 November 1969) (with

Ivan Rebroff Ivan Rebroff (31 July 193127 February 2008) was a German-born vocalist, allegedly of Russian ancestry, who rose to prominence for his distinct and extensive vocal range of four and a half octaves, ranging from the soprano to bass registers. ...

and Maria Murano)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marigny, Theatre Theatres in Paris Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris Charles Garnier buildings Édouard Niermans buildings