Théâtre Pigalle
Encyclopedia
The Théâtre Pigalle was a theatre in Paris, located in the rue Pigalle in the ninth arrondissement.
on the estate of his father Henri de Rothschild, the Rothschilds' ambition was to construct the most modern theatre in the world. The architects, Charles Siclis, Henri Just and Pierre Blum, were sent through Europe to research the latest technical developments in theatre design. Graphic artist Jean Carlu
designed two well-known posters emphasizing its machine-age image.
André Antoine
was hired as art director, and Gabriel Astruc
as manager. Antoine was replaced after two years with Gaston Baty
following a disagreement with Rothschild.
The 1500-seat venue opened with Sacha Guitry
's piece, Histories of France. The great German impresario Max Reinhardt
staged a production of Die Fleidermaus here in November 1933 Through the 1930s and the war, directors and performers here included Louis Jouvet
(the 1931 premiere of Judith
written by Jean Giraudoux
), the brothers Émile Isola
and Vincent Isola
, Raymond Rouleau, and many others. Although the venue had been "furnished with four elevators, an immense switchboard, and a vast amount of complicated theatrical machinery", Jouvet, for one, found it challenging to make it work theatrically.
After the failure of Claude Vermorel's Thermidor in 1948, the theatre closed its doors. The site was sold in 1958, and an automobile garage built on the site.
History
Opened on June 20, 1929, financed by Philippe de RothschildPhilippe de Rothschild
Baron Philippe de Rothschild was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix race-car driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one of the most successful wine growers in the world.-Early life:Born in Paris, Georges Philippe...
on the estate of his father Henri de Rothschild, the Rothschilds' ambition was to construct the most modern theatre in the world. The architects, Charles Siclis, Henri Just and Pierre Blum, were sent through Europe to research the latest technical developments in theatre design. Graphic artist Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu was a French graphic designer, specialised in posters. He was member of a family of architects; his brother Jacques Carlu for example designed the Palais de Chaillot in Paris...
designed two well-known posters emphasizing its machine-age image.
André Antoine
André Antoine
André Antoine was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France.-Biography:...
was hired as art director, and Gabriel Astruc
Gabriel Astruc
Gabriel Astruc was a French journalist, agent, promoter, theatre manager, theatrical impresario, and playwright whose career connects many of the best-known incidents and personalities of Belle Epoque Paris.- Biography :...
as manager. Antoine was replaced after two years with Gaston Baty
Gaston Baty
Gaston Baty , whose full name was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Gaston Baty, was a French playwright and director. His stage adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary was presented in an English translation on Broadway in 1937. Constance Cummings played the title role...
following a disagreement with Rothschild.
The 1500-seat venue opened with Sacha Guitry
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
's piece, Histories of France. The great German impresario Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
staged a production of Die Fleidermaus here in November 1933 Through the 1930s and the war, directors and performers here included Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
(the 1931 premiere of Judith
Judith (play)
Judith is a play written in 1931 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux.-Original productions:Judith was translated into English by John K. Savacool, in The Modern Theatre, ed. Eric Bentley, vol. 3 , and by Christopher Fry, in The Drama of Jean Giraudoux, vol...
written by Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
), the brothers Émile Isola
Émile Isola
Émile Isola was born on 4 September 1860 in Blida, Algeria and died in Paris on 17 May 1945. Along with his younger brother Vincent Isola with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and theatre director in Paris; they were known as the Frères Isola – the Isola...
and Vincent Isola
Vincent Isola
Vincent Isola was born on 24 July 1862 in Blida, Algeria and died in Paris on 31 August 1947. Along with his older brother Émile Isola with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and theatre director in Paris; they were known as the Frères Isola – the Isola...
, Raymond Rouleau, and many others. Although the venue had been "furnished with four elevators, an immense switchboard, and a vast amount of complicated theatrical machinery", Jouvet, for one, found it challenging to make it work theatrically.
After the failure of Claude Vermorel's Thermidor in 1948, the theatre closed its doors. The site was sold in 1958, and an automobile garage built on the site.
Sources
- photographs and documents (in French)
- online description with photographs
- version of this page from French Wikipedia accessed 9/22/2010