Jules Édouard Marchand (20 October 1859 [1] – 8 February 1905 [2] ) was a Parisian theatre director and artistic director in the second half of the 19th century, where he created the big show revues.
Born in Paris, Marchand was a show organizer and talent scout. He was responsible for the artistic creation of the big show revues. [3] Marchand was a regular in theatres, cabarets and caf'conc'. He travelled the world in search of new talent. He became a personality of Parisian nights and a recognized artistic advisor. [4]
Following the purchase of the Folies Bergère theatre by Mr and Mrs Allemand, they recruited Marchand as artistic director. The latter married their niece. They had a son, Léopold Marchand, born in 1891, who became a famous playwright and screenwriter.
In 1886, Marchand conceived a new kind of show, the music-hall revue. Marchand understood that women were at the heart of this new concept and would impose it on the Folies Bergère. [3] Most of the stars of caf'conc' sang at the Folies Bergère: Paulus, Polin , Yvette Guilbert, Polaire and Gaby Deslys.
For sixteen years, Marchand directed many artists: the Frères Isola (illusionists), Nala Damajenti (snake charmer), the Zulu Troupe (real Zulus), the Burmese Family, the Kangaroo Boxer, the Stamboul Wrestlers, Tom Cannon (giant wrestler), Ira Paine (American gunfighter), Iron Jack (Hercules), Sampson (chain breaker), Captain George Costentenus (tattooed with three hundred and twenty animal figures), the Scheffers (acrobats), Cinquévalli (king of jugglers), the Living Paintings of the London Palace Theatre, Little Tich (English transformist dwarf), the Griffiths (clowns), Baggenssen (eccentric clown), the Barrison sisters, la Cavaliéri, la Tortojada, Caroline Otéro, Liane de Pougy, Émilienne d'Alençon, and Loïe Fuller. [5]
On 7 April 1894, Marchand bought the Folies Bergère theatre from the Allemand couple. He also became director of the Eldorado theatre in Paris.
In 1895, Marchand staged the first major English-style music hall revue in France at the Scala (Paris) in Paris. All the great stars of the caf'conc' performed there: Polin, Yvette Guilbert, Fragson, Mayol, Polaire, Paulette Darty, Max Dearly, Mistinguett.
In 1901, he recruited the opera dancer, Cléo de Mérode for a pantomime ballet in three acts called Lorenza. This was the last major show he organised. [6]
In 1902, illness forced Marchand to step down after 16 years of success. [3] He negotiated his succession at a high price with the Isola Brothers, whom he himself had directed at the Folies Bergère.
Marchand died some time later in Paris at the age of 45. [2]
Moulin Rouge is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
The Olympia is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra Garnier, 300 metres (980 ft) north of Vendôme square. Its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin, and Auber.
The Folies Bergère is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trévise, with light entertainment including operettas, comic opera, popular songs, and gymnastics. It became the Folies Bergère on 13 September 1872, named after nearby Rue Bergère. The house was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s' Belle Époque through the 1920s.
Paul Colin born in Nancy, France, died in Nogent-sur-Marne. Colin was a prolific master illustrator of Decorative Arts posters. He was the brother of Alexandre-Marie Colin.
The Incoherents was a short-lived French art movement founded by Parisian writer and publisher Jules Lévy (1857–1935) in 1882, which in its satirical irreverence, anticipated many of the art techniques and attitudes later associated with the avant-garde and anti-art movements such as Dada.
The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, in the fifth arrondissement, near Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, and the Tour d'Argent restaurant. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoine and Jussieu.
The Alcazar d'Été was a Café-concert which opened in 1869, at 8 Avenue Gabriel in Paris, and closed in 1914.
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 Brothers.
Vincent Isola was a French theatre director. 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 Brothers.
Camille Périer (1856–1935), known by his stage name Kam-Hill, was a French cabaret performer and singer in Paris. He was the son of a musician at the Opéra-Comique and brother of the famous opera and operetta singer Jean Périer.
Émilienne d'Alençon was a French dancer, actress, and courtesan.
Jérôme Robart is a French actor, producer and playwright.
An Adventurous Automobile Trip is a 1905 French short silent comedy film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, a spoof of the devil-may-care motoring exploits of King Leopold II of Belgium, features the King engaging in a manic, implausibly fast automobile ride from Paris to Monte Carlo. The singer-comedian Harry Fragson stars as the King, supported by a large cast of stage performers from the Folies Bergère cabaret and other venues, with two cameo appearances from Méliès himself.
Victor de Cottens was a French dramatist, librettist, stage director, and theatre critic.
Louis-François-Marie Nicolaïe, better known as Clairville, was a 19th-century French comedian, poet, chansonnier, goguettier and playwright.
Armand Alfred Patusset was a French composer, conductor and musical arrangeur.
Jeanne Clémence Floriet called Jane Margyl was a French mezzo-soprano. She began her career as a mime artist at the Folies Bergère starring in several productions. After voice studies, she appeared in operas from 1902 onwards. She first appeared at the Paris Opera in 1905 as Dalila in Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saëns, and took other leading roles there.
Roger Louret was a French actor, playwright, and theatre director.
Lasting almost 50 years, Les Folies Bergere was the longest running show in Las Vegas history.
Yvonne Marie Louise Odette Renée Ménard was a French burlesque dancer. She was known for her roles at the Folies Bergère in shows such as Une Vraie Folie, in films such as Les nuits de Paris [Fr], as well as for being the cover model of Playboy's third issue in February 1954. She is listed in the brief description of the Folies Bergère theatre in the 28th and 29th editions of Bienvenue à Paris.