Théâtres des Variétés


The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1975.
It owes its creation to the theatre directorMademoiselle 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 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 Napoleonhimself 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. The theatre plays a prominent role in Émile Zola's novel of 1880, Nana, as the theatre in which Nana achieves celebrity in the opening chapters.
The theatre has seen the first performance of several operetta, including  La Belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-Duchesse de Géroistein (1867), La Périchole (1868) and Les brigands (1869).


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