Émile Isola was born on 4 September 1860 in Blida,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and died in Paris on 17 May 1945. Along with his younger brother

Vincent Isola Vincent Isola (24 July 1862 in Blida, Algeria – 31 August 1947 in Paris) was a French theatre director. Along with his older brother Émile Isola with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and theatre director in P ...

with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

in Paris; they were known as the Frères Isola – the Isola Brothers.

Biography

Born in Algeria of Italian parents, Émile Isola arrived in Paris in 1880, and with his brother undertook a variety of jobs before they first showed their conjuring act in public. They acquired the

Théâtre des Capucines The Théâtre des Capucines was a theatre on the boulevard des Capucines in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Built in 1889 by architect Édouard-Jean Niermans, it was taken over by two brothers, Émile Isola and Vincent Isola, in 1892 to become ...

in 1892 and renamed it Théâtre Isola attracting large audiences. At the end of 1895, the Isola brothers discovered the invention of the Frères Lumière,

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

, and devised a projector called ''Isolatographe'' for which the films were provided by another pair of brothers, Frères Emile and Charles Pathé. By colouration of the films they were able to show 'colour films' at the Théâtre Isola. In 1897, they bought the Parisiana and stopped their own act to become theatrical producers. The brothers became the directors of the Olympia in 1898, the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

in 1901, and the Gaîté-Lyrique from 1903-1913. As joint directors of the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

from 1914-1925 (with Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi and subsequently with

Albert Carré Albert Carré (; born Strasbourg 22 June 1852, died Paris 12 December 1938) was a French theatre director, opera director, actor and librettist. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré (1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Ca ...

), they revived ''

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

'' by Fauré and '' Le Festin de l'araignée'' by Roussel, and produced Milhaud's first opera ''La brebis égarée''.''Cinquante Ans de Musique Française de 1874 à 1925.'' Les Éditions Musicales de la Librairie de France, Paris, 1925. Their tenure at the

Théâtre Mogador Théâtre Mogador (), founded in 1913 with design by Bertie Crewe, is a Parisian music hall theatre located at 25, Rue de Mogador in the 9th arrondissement. It seats 1,600 people on three tiers (orchestra: 787 seats, boxes: 432 seats, balconies ...

saw the Paris premieres of ''

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical with a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''; lyrics by Irving Caesar and Harbach; and music by Vincent Youmans. The farcical story centers on three coup ...

'' and ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a F ...

'', and revivals of Offenbach operettas. Directorship of the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt from 1926 brought about their ruin despite the success of 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 Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...

, and of

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

and

Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps (; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally. Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and ...

. In 1936 the brothers were obliged to restart touring with their conjuring act. During the occupation of Paris in 1943, they took over the direction of the

Théâtre Pigalle The Théâtre Pigalle () was a theatre in Paris, located in the rue Pigalle in the ninth ''arrondissement''. History Opened on June 20, 1929, financed by Philippe de Rothschild on the estate of his father Henri de Rothschild, the Rothschilds' ...

. They died in relative obscurity after the war. In 1917 the Bouffes-Parisiens presented ''L'Illusioniste'', a play about the sentimental adventures of a magician, by Guitry inspired by the Isola brothers. He received the Légion d'honneur in 1922. He was married twice, to Sidonie Victorine Marie Courbarien and after her death, to Yvonne Cadet.

References

* ''Souvenirs des Frères Isola, cinquante ans de vie parisienne'', recueillis par

Pierre Andrieu Pierre-Paulin Andrieu (7 December 1849 – 15 February 1935) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and archbishop of Bordeaux et Bazes. He was educated at the Seminary of Toulouse in Toulouse, France. He was ordained to th ...

, Flammarion, Paris, 1943.

Accessed 2 February 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Isola, Emile 1860 births 1945 deaths People from Blida Pieds-noirs French people of Italian descent Recipients of the Legion of Honour French magicians French opera managers fr:Frères Isola