Theater du Chatelet description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

Theater du Chatelet description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Theater du Chatelet.

Photo and description

The Chatelet Theater is located on the square, which is called the same - Chatelet. The history of the name is not too much connected with art: the theater was built in 1862 on the site of a former prison. At first, it was called the Imperial Theater Circus, they put something between a play and a circus performance here.

Chatelet has the largest auditorium in Paris with 2,300 seats. It is believed, however, that the theater can hold up to 3,400 spectators during a full house. The architect Gabriel Davout built it on a rare scale: the stage measures 24 by 35 meters, three-storey buildings could freely fit under it and above it. In 1886, during the extravaganza performance "Cinderella", 676 artists simultaneously appeared on the stage. The high glass dome has excellent acoustics.

At the Chatelet Theater, Chaliapin sang, here Vaslav Nijinsky performed the solo in "Afternoon of a Faun", Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Ballet and the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova performed here for the first time. In the summer of 1917, a young and still little-known Pablo Picasso often visited the theater: he fell in love with the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, who was dancing in the scandalous ballet Parade, and she soon became the artist's wife. Guillaume Apollinaire, describing the production of "Parade", was the first to use the word "surrealism". Here, in Chatelet, Nikolai Gumilyov, in collaboration with Diaghilev, prepared for staging a ballet on his own libretto - it did not work, that year it was restless in Europe, and Russia and the execution were waiting for Gumilyov.

Theater Chatelet was at all times avant-garde and daring. Its unusual history and unique possibilities have from time to time brought a distinct adventure and even fantastic flavor to the repertoire. In 1905, one of the founders of cinema, Georges Melies, staged an experimental play "Journey to the Moon" here. In the 19th century, Jules Verne was staged here, and in the 21st century - David Cronenberg's classic fantasy thriller The Fly. And Placido Domingo himself was behind the conductor's stand.

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Topic: Theater du Chatelet description and photos - France: Paris.