The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and 1862. Originally named the Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet, it has undergone remodeling and name changes over the years. Currently it seats 2,500 people.

Description

The theatre is one of two apparent twins constructed along the quays of the

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, facing each other across the open Place du Châtelet. The other is the Théâtre de la Ville. Their external architecture is essentially

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

entrances under arcades, although their interior layouts differ considerably. At the centre of the plaza is an ornate, sphinx-endowed fountain, erected in 1808, which commemorates

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's victory in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Origins

The Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet was built for Hippolyte Hostein's equestrian company, the Théâtre Impérial du Cirque, whose previous theatre, the

Cirque Olympique The Cirque Olympique in Paris, also known as the Cirque Franconi, was an equestrian theatre company, founded in 1782 by Philip Astley, the English inventor of the modern circus ring, and was initially known as the Cirque d'Astley or the Cirque A ...

on the

Boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...

, was slated for demolition by Baron Haussmann to allow the construction of the Boulevard du Prince-Eugène (now the Boulevard Voltaire).Wild 1989, p. 76. The site for the new theatre was acquired by the City of Paris in October 1859, and construction took place between 1860 and 1862. The interior designers included Eugène Carrières and Armand Cambon, and the curtain was created by Charles Cambon. The theatre originally seated 2,200 people, although Haussmann claimed it held 3,600. The repertory, fixed by a decree of 20 September 1862, included military works and '' féeries'' in one or several acts, as well as dramas and ''vaudevilles''. Hostein left as director in September 1868. Nestor Roqueplan ran the theatre from 1 July 1869 to April 1870.

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 The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s ...

, and under the succeeding

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

, the appellation ''impérial'' was dropped. Hippolyte Hostein returned as the theatre's director in 1873–1874. Notably, beginning in April 1876, the stage version of

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

's ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'', 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.

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 The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. ...

, 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 Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's '' Daphnis et Chloé'' on 8 June 1912, and Erik Satie and

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

's '' Parade'' on 18 May 1917. In addition, many foreign composers and conductors made appearances in the theatre, including

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

, Gustav Mahler and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. 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.

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and othe ...

recorded her 1992 live album '' I Love You, Paris'' at the Théâtre du Châtelet. For a time it was mainly used for opera performances and concerts. The Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France have played there. In 1993 the Philharmonia Orchestra of London began an annual residency period. 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, became artistic director of the theatre. He de-emphasized

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

and dance performances and introduced more lucrative productions of Broadway musicals, including '' Kiss Me, Kate'', ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'', '' 42nd Street'', and '' An American in Paris''. In 2017, Choplin was succeeded by

Ruth Mackenzie Ruth Mackenzie is an artistic director of theatres and arts festivals. She has worked extensively in the UK and Europe, and was responsible for the London 2012 Festival. In 2022 she was appointed as artistic director of the Adelaide Festival of ...

, who was appointed artistic director alongside general director Thomas Lauriot dit Prévost, who worked at the theatre with Choplin from 2006 to 2013. Mackenzie aimed to connect the theatre's programming more to the citizens of Paris, including its banlieues. Under her tenure, from 2017 to 2019, the theatre was closed for a $34.7 million renovation. While the main purpose of the renovation was to renew electrical circuits, fire safety and security, the Grand Salle was returned to its appearance of 1862 and the Grand Foyer to its

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

style. Outside of the theatre, allegorical statues symbolising dance, music, comedy and drama which were removed at the end of the 19th century were restored. 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. In 2019, Comme des Garçons launched a

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently v ...

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

. 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. In response, Mackenzie confirmed an inquiry into her performance had been carried out, but stated that it had not uncovered evidence of wrongdoing. 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. On 24 February 2022, 32 dancers of the

Kyiv Ballet Kyiv National Ballet performs works of classical ballet and tours internationally. It currently has 24 ballets in its repertory, one of the largest in the world, and has had many notable dancers among its members. History 1867 to 1930 The Nationa ...

were stranded in Paris due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The City of Paris offered them a residency at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, announced this at one of the group's first performances at the theatre, saying the arrangement would last “for as long as it takes.”

Notes

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. . (paperback).

External links

Official websiteFloormic Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Du Chatelet Chatelet Chatelet Buildings and structures in the 1st arrondissement of Paris Theatres completed in 1862 Music venues completed in 1862 1862 establishments in France Music venues in France