The Théâtre des Variétés () is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It was declared a

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

in 1974.

History

The theatre owed its creation to Mademoiselle Montansier (Marguerite Brunet). Imprisoned for debt in 1803 and frowned upon by the government, a decree of 1806 ordered her company to leave the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history O ...

which then bore the name of "Variétés". The decree's aim was to move out Montansier's troupe to make room for the company from the neighbouring Théâtre-Français, which had stayed empty even as the Variétés-Montansier had enjoyed immense public favour. Strongly unhappy about having to leave the theatre by 1 January 1807, the 77-year-old Montansier gained an audience with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

himself and received his help and protection. She thus reunited the "Société des Cinq", which directed her troupe, in order to found a new theatre, the one which stands at the side of the passage des Panoramas. It was inaugurated on 24 June 1807.Charlton, David. Paris. In:

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997, 4, vii, p.873 'Théâtre des Variétés'. The liberalisation of the regulations of Parisian theatres in 1864 led the management of the Variétés to stage several key works by Offenbach. The composer seized the opportunities in the new legal framework to present his work to different audiences beyond the Bouffes-Parisiens, and the final six years of the Empire marked the high-point of his career, with ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

'' and '' La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' premiered there. The theatre also witnessed the first success in operetta of

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (; 3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable su ...

. Suzanne Lagier made her début there at the age of thirteen in 1846, in the show ''Veuve de quinze ans'', a role which was written for her by Pierre Adolphe Capelle. Ève Lavallière appeared in operettas and plays there from 1892 for twenty years in works by Offenbach, Feydeau and Audran. Albert Brasseur was a member of the Variétés company from 1891 playing in many productions including several Offenbach works '' La Vie parisienne'', '' Les Brigands'', ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

'' and

Orphée aux Enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

and many plays by Feydeau. The theatre plays a prominent role in

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

's 1880 novel, '' Nana'', as the establishment in which the title character achieves celebrity with the premiere of ''La Blonde Vénus'' at the Théâtre des Variétés in April 1867 in the opening chapters.

Other activities

In 2012 the theatre began to host technical conferences such as dotJS or dotScale.

Premieres at the theatre

* 1833: ''La Modiste et le Lord'', 2-act opera by Auguste Pilati * 1856: ''L'Amour et Psyché'', 1 act opera by Auguste Pilati * 1864: ''

'',

opéra bouffe ''Opéra bouffe'' (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of mid- to late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. It ...

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

, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy * 1866: '' Barbe-bleue'' by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy * 1867: '' La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy * 1868: ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy * 1869: '' Les brigands'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Meilhac and Halévy * 1877: '' Le docteur Ox'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, libretto by Arnold Mortier and Philippe Gille * 1883: '' Mam'zelle Nitouche'', vaudeville-operette by Hervé * 1907: '' L'Enfant prodigue'', the first feature-length European film, directed by Michel Carré, fils * 1923: '' Ciboulette'', operetta by

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born ...

, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset * 1946: ''César'' by

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (, also ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's ...

, after his film of the same name

Directors

*1807–19 : Mlle Montansier *1820–30 : Mira Brunet *1930–36 : Armand Dartois *1836 : Jean-François Bayard *1837–39 : Philippe Pinel-Dumanoir *1839 : Jouslin de la Salle *1840 : M. Leroy *1840–47 : Nestor Roqueplan *1847–49 : M. Morin *1849–51 : M. Thibeaudeau-Milon
(M. Bowes, proprietor) *1851–54 : M. Carpier (M. Bowes, proprietor) *1855 : MM. Laurencin & Zacheroni (M. Bowes, proprietor) *1855 : Hippolyte & Théodore Cogniard *1856–69 : Hippolyte Cogniard & Jules Noriac *1869–91 : Eugène Bertrand *1892–1914 : Fernand Samuel *1914–40 : Max Maurey *1940–43 : Émile Petit *1944–45 : Max Maurey & Émile Petit *1946–47 : Max & Denis Maurey *1947–75 : Denis & Marcel Maurey *1975–89 : Jean-Michel Rouzière *1989–91 : Francis Lemonnier *1991–2004 :

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

*since 2005 : Jean-Manuel Bajen

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Des Varietes Varietes Buildings and structures in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris