The
Théâtre du Châtelet is a
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and
opera houseAn opera house is a theater building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. One of two theatres (the other being the
Théâtre de la VilleThe Théâtre de la Ville is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet....
) built on the site of a
châteletIn antiquity, a châtelet was a little castle or fortress, wherein the chatelain , or governor lodged.Now, the term may refer to:* Châtelet, a city in Belgium...
, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by
Gabriel DavioudJean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud was a French architect.Davioud was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Vaudoyer...
at the request of
Baron HaussmannGeorges-Eugène Haussmann , who called himself Baron Haussmann, was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
between 1860 and 1862. Originally built with 3,000 seats, it was named the
Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet, but has undergone remodeling and name changes over the years.
The
Théâtre du Châtelet is a
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and
opera houseAn opera house is a theater building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. One of two theatres (the other being the
Théâtre de la VilleThe Théâtre de la Ville is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet....
) built on the site of a
châteletIn antiquity, a châtelet was a little castle or fortress, wherein the chatelain , or governor lodged.Now, the term may refer to:* Châtelet, a city in Belgium...
, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by
Gabriel DavioudJean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud was a French architect.Davioud was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Vaudoyer...
at the request of
Baron HaussmannGeorges-Eugène Haussmann , who called himself Baron Haussmann, was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
between 1860 and 1862. Originally built with 3,000 seats, it was named the
Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet, but has undergone remodeling and name changes over the years. Currently it seats 2,500 people.
History of the theatre
The two identical theatres, with a fountain and an open plaza, the
Place du Châtelet, between them, were constructed along the quays of the
SeineThe Seine is a slow-flowing major river and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie in France and famous as a romantic backdrop in photographs of Paris, France. It is also a tourist attraction, with excursion boats offering sightseeing tours of the Rive Droite...
. Their external architecture is essentially Palladian in style while each has its entrance under an arcade. At the centre of the plaza is a
sphinxA sphinx is a zoomorphic mythological figure which is depicted as a recumbent lion with a human head. It has its origins in sculpted figures of Old Kingdom Egypt, to which the ancient Greeks applied their own name for a male monster, the "strangler", an archaic figure of Greek mythology...
-endowed fountain, erected in 1808, which commemorates Napoleon's victory in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. The other theatre, previously named the
Sarah BernhardtSarah Bernhardt was a legendary French stage actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress in the history of the world". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
(after the French actress) and now known as the
Théâtre de la VilleThe Théâtre de la Ville is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet....
, offers top names in contemporary dance, innovative French theatre, and evening concerts of jazz or world music.
The Théâtre du Châtelet was originally used for drama performances but, in the twentieth century, it was used for
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Operetta in French:...
s, variety and ballet performances, for classical and popular music concerts. It was also, for a time, a cinema.
Since 1906 regular seasons of opera and ballet have been presented by a variety of impresarios, as well as by visiting international companies as diverse as Diaghilev's
Ballets RussesThe Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company which performed under the directorship of Sergei Diaghilev between 1909 and 1929. Some of their places of residence included the Théâtre Mogador and the Théâtre du Châtelet, as Paris had a large Russian exile population...
and the present-day Kirov Opera.
Igor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, widely acknowledged as one of the most important and influential composers of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially cosmopolitan Russian who was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of...
’s
Petrouchka received its premiere in the theatre on 3 June 1911, as did
Erik SatieÉric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Starting with his first composition in 1884, he signed his name as Erik Satie....
and
Jean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright, artist and filmmaker...
’s
ParadeA parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
on 18 May 1917. In addition, many foreign composers and conductors made appearances in the theatre, including
TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
[The subject's names are also transliterated Piotr, Petr, or Peter; Ilitsch, Ilich, Il'ich or Illyich; and Tschaikowski, Tschaikowsky, Chajkovskij and Chaikovsky...]
,
Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a Bohemian-born Austrian composer and conductor. He was best known during his own lifetime as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day...
and
Richard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems...
.
Since 1979, it has been operated by the City of Paris, and, after undergoing a major restoration, re-opened under the name of the
Théâtre Musical de Paris in 1980. It was acoustically re-modeled again in 1989 and reverted to the
Théâtre du Châtelet name. It is currently mainly used for opera performances and concerts.
Under the direction of Stéphane Lissner for four years from 1995, the theatre received additional improvements in acoustics and sightliness.
In recent years, the theatre has become the home of the
Orchestre de ParisThe Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris which was founded in 1967. The orchestra's music director is Christoph Eschenbach and most of its concerts are performed at the Salle Pleyel.-History:...
, the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio FranceThe Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra providing music for Radio France. It specializes in contemporary music and was founded in 1937.- Names of the orchestra :*Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France...
and, since 1993, the Philharmonia Orchestra of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
has an annual residency period.
External links