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| The Jones are enjoying the Moulin Rouge |
Today, The Jones are visiting the most famous cabaret in Paris. Moulin Rouge, the original house, which burned down in 1915, was co-founded in 1889 by Charles Zidler and Josep Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia.
Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.
Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe.
Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.
Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe.
More information: Moulin Rouge
Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France.
The Belle Époque was a period of peace and optimism marked by industrial progress, and a particularly rich cultural exuberance was about at the opening of the Moulin Rouge. The Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900 are symbols of this period.
The Belle Époque was a period of peace and optimism marked by industrial progress, and a particularly rich cultural exuberance was about at the opening of the Moulin Rouge. The Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900 are symbols of this period.
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| Grandma's memories at Moulin Rouge |
The Eiffel Tower was also constructed in 1889, epitomising the spirit of progress along with the culturally transgressive cabaret. Japonism, an artistic movement inspired by the Orient, with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as its most brilliant disciple, was also at its height.
Montmartre, which, at the heart of an increasingly vast and impersonal Paris, retained a bucolic village atmosphere; festivities and artists mixed, with pleasure and beauty as their values.
On 6 October 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened in the Jardin de Paris, at the foot of the Montmartre hill. Its creator Josep Oller and his Manager Charles Zidler were formidable businessmen who understood the public's tastes.
More information: The Guardian
The aim was to allow the very rich to come and 'slum it' in a fashionable district, Montmartre. The extravagant setting -the garden was adorned with a gigantic elephant- allowed people from all walks of life to mix.
Workers, residents of
the Place Blanche, artists, the middle classes, businessmen, elegant
women, and foreigners passing through Paris rubbed shoulders. Nicknamed The First Palace of Women by Oller and Zidler, the cabaret quickly became a great success.
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| The Jones are ready to watch the show |
Some reasons of its success were a revolutionary architecture for the auditorium that allowed rapid changes of décor and where everyone could mix; some festive champagne evenings where people danced and were entertained thanks to amusing acts that changed regularly, such as the Pétomane; a new dance inspired by the quadrille which becomes more and more popular: The Can-can, danced to a furious rhythm by dancers in titillating costumes; famous dancers whom history still remembers: la Goulue, Jane Avril, la Môme Fromage, Grille d'Egout, Nini Pattes en l'Air, Yvette Guilbert, Valentin le désossé, and the clown Cha-U-Kao, and a place loved by artists, including Toulouse-Lautrec whose posters and paintings secured rapid and international fame for the Moulin Rouge.
29 July 1907 is the first appearance of Mistinguett on stage at the Moulin Rouge in the Revue de la Femme. Her talent was immediately obvious. The following year she had a huge success with Max Dearly in la Valse chaloupée.
29 July 1907 is the first appearance of Mistinguett on stage at the Moulin Rouge in the Revue de la Femme. Her talent was immediately obvious. The following year she had a huge success with Max Dearly in la Valse chaloupée.
More information: Bonjour Paris
Les escaliers de la butte sont durs aux miséreux,
les ailes des moulins protègent les amoureux.
The stairs of the hillock are hard to the poor,
the wings of mills protect lovers.
les ailes des moulins protègent les amoureux.
The stairs of the hillock are hard to the poor,
the wings of mills protect lovers.
Rufus Wainright
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| Mistinguett |
Mistinguett (1875-1956) was a French actress and singer, whose birth name was Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world.
The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois and Jeannette Debrée, Jeanne Bourgeois was born at 5 Rue du Chemin-de-Fer, in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France. The family moved to Soisy-sous-Montmorency where she spent her childhood; her parents later worked as mattress-makers.
At an early age Bourgeois aspired to be an entertainer. She began as a flower seller in a restaurant in her hometown, singing popular ballads as she sold blossoms. After taking classes in theatre and singing, she began her career as an entertainer in 1885. One day on the train to Paris for a violin lesson, she met Saint-Marcel, who directed the revue at the Casino de Paris.
The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois and Jeannette Debrée, Jeanne Bourgeois was born at 5 Rue du Chemin-de-Fer, in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France. The family moved to Soisy-sous-Montmorency where she spent her childhood; her parents later worked as mattress-makers.
At an early age Bourgeois aspired to be an entertainer. She began as a flower seller in a restaurant in her hometown, singing popular ballads as she sold blossoms. After taking classes in theatre and singing, she began her career as an entertainer in 1885. One day on the train to Paris for a violin lesson, she met Saint-Marcel, who directed the revue at the Casino de Paris.
More information: The Vintage News
Bourgeois made her debut as Mistinguett at the Casino de Paris in 1895 and went on to appear in venues such as the Folies Bergère, Moulin Rouge and Eldorado.
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| Mistinguett Art Nouveau posters |
Her risqué routines captivated Paris, and she went on to become the most popular French entertainer of her time and the highest-paid female entertainer in the world, known for her flamboyance and a zest for the theatrical. In 1919 her legs were insured for 500,000 francs.
Though Mistinguett never married, she had a son, Léopoldo João de Lima e Silva. She also had a long relationship with Maurice Chevalier, 13 years her junior. It is claimed that she and Chevalier informed the police in 1940 that singer/songwriter Charles Trenet was gay and consorting with youths.
She first recorded her signature song, Mon Homme, in 1916. It was popularised under its English title My Man by Fanny Brice and has become a standard in the repertoire of numerous pop and jazz singers.
Though Mistinguett never married, she had a son, Léopoldo João de Lima e Silva. She also had a long relationship with Maurice Chevalier, 13 years her junior. It is claimed that she and Chevalier informed the police in 1940 that singer/songwriter Charles Trenet was gay and consorting with youths.
She first recorded her signature song, Mon Homme, in 1916. It was popularised under its English title My Man by Fanny Brice and has become a standard in the repertoire of numerous pop and jazz singers.
More information: Paris City Vision
During a tour of the United States, Mistinguett was asked by Time magazine to explain her popularity. Her answer was, It is a kind of magnetism. I say 'Come closer' and draw them to me.
If I could live in a cabaret, I would.
If I could live in 'Moulin Rouge,' I would.
Rita Ora
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