The Cirque Olympique in Paris, also known as the Cirque Franconi, was an equestrian theatre company, founded in 1782 by Philip Astley, the English inventor of the modern circus ring, and was initially known as the Cirque d'Astley or the Cirque Anglais.
Astley's theatre, the Amphithéâtre Anglais or Amphithéâtre d'Astley, was the first purpose-built circus building in France. It was located on a large site in the rue du Faubourg du Temple and was a round theatre constructed in wood, with two seating levels and lit by 2,000 candles. The theatre was open four months out of the year and featured equestrian performances interspersed with juggling and other acts.
Astley leased his Parisian circus to Antonio Franconi in 1793, during the French Revolution. Because of the small size of Astley's theatre, Franconi moved the circus to the enclosure of the former Convent of the Capucines, where he constructed stables and a new theatre. [1]
In 1807 Franconi ceded his enterprise to his two sons, Laurent and Henri, who renamed it the Cirque Olympique. With the construction of the rue Napoléon that same year, they were obliged to move again, to a new theatre between the rue du Mont-Thabor and the rue Saint-Honoré. It was leased to them by Francois Delpont and opened on 28 December 1807. The Franconi brothers were forced to close this theatre on 27 May 1816, due to the planned construction of the public treasury at this location. [1]
The two brothers decided to return to Astley's old theatre on the rue du Faubourg du Temple, making extensive additions and alterations to the theatre and its site and renaming it the Cirque Olympique. They inaugurated the new theatre on 8 February 1817. On the night of 15 March 1826, after a performance of the one-act melodrama L'incendie de Salins, featuring a grand spectacle recreating the dramatic fire at Salins-les-Bains of 27 July 1825, [2] the pyrotechnical effects sparked a genuine fire that burned the theatre to the ground. [1]
After the fire which destroyed the Cirque Olympique on the rue Faubourg du Temple, the brothers Franconi moved again, this time to the boulevard du Temple, where they built yet another theatre, also known as the Cirque Olympique. The new theatre, built to the designs of the French architect Alexandre Bourla, was inaugurated on 21 March 1827. It was remodeled in 1847 by the architect Louis Théodore Charpentier for the use of the Opéra-National, which occupied it from 18 June 1844 to 1847. Thereafter it was known as the Théâtre National until 4 July 1853, when it became the Théâtre du Cirque Impérial. The theatre was demolished in 1862 for an urban renewal project, and the director at that time, Hippolyte Hostein, moved the circus to the Théâtre du Châtelet. [1]
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The traditional format, in which a ringmaster introduces a variety of choreographed acts set to music, developed in the latter part of the 19th century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s.
Philip Astley was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus". Modern circus, as an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domesticated animals, acrobats, and clowns, traces its heritage to Astley's Amphitheatre, a riding school that Astley founded in London following the success of trick-riding displays given by him and his wife Patty Jones in 1768. Astley's first competitor was equestrian Charles Hughes, who had previously worked with Astley. Together with Charles Dibdin, a famous author of pantomimes, Hughes opened a rival amphitheatre in London, which Dibdin called the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy.
The Cirque d'Hiver, located at 110 rue Amelot, has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musical concerts, and other events, including exhibitions of Turkish wrestling and even fashion shows. The theatre was designed by the architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff and was opened by Emperor Napoleon III on 11 December 1852 as the Cirque Napoléon. The orchestral concerts of Jules Etienne Pasdeloup were inaugurated at the Cirque Napoléon on 27 October 1861 and continued for more than twenty years. The theatre was renamed Cirque d'Hiver in 1870.
The rue Saint-Honoré is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
Antonio Franconi was an Italian equestrian.
The Cirque Medrano is a French circus that was located at 63 Boulevard de Rochechouart, at the corner of rue des Martyrs, in the 18th arrondissement at the edge of Montmartre in Paris. It was originally called Cirque Fernando. The title "Cirque Medrano" is still active today: it is now a successful French traveling circus.
The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the nearby Knights Templars' Temple, where they established their Paris priory.
Hippodrama, horse drama, or equestrian drama is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre.
The Cirque d'Été, a former Parisian equestrian theatre, was built in 1841 to designs by the architect Jacques Hittorff. It was used as the summer home of the Théâtre Franconi, the equestrian troupe of the Cirque Olympique, the license for which had been sold in 1836 to Louis Dejean by Adolphe Franconi, the grandson of its founder, Antonio Franconi. The cirque was later also used for other purposes, including grand concerts conducted by Hector Berlioz.
Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques is a name that was used for a number of different theatres in Paris from 1785 to 1890.
This article presents the main landmarks in the city of Paris within administrative limits, divided by its 20 arrondissements. Landmarks located in the suburbs of Paris, outside of its administrative limits, while within the metropolitan area are not included in this article.
Henri Adolphe Franconi was a French playwright and circus performer.
Henri Franconi, full name Jean Gérard Henri Franconi, was a French playwright and circus performer of the early 19th century.
Louis Ponet called Portelette, was a French novelist and playwright during the first half of the 19th century.
Fabrice Labrousse was a 19th-century French playwright. He was the grandfather of the dramatist Fabrice Carré (1855-1921).
Pierre Antoine Jean-Baptiste Villiers was a French playwright, journalist and poet.
Alexandre Chaponnier called Polyanthe was a 19th-century French physician, painter, engraver, and playwright.
Jean-Baptiste-Louis Camel was an early 19th-century French playwright.
Édouard Devicque was a 19th-century French playwright and novelist.
Eugène Baudouin was a French painter and printmaker.
Notes
Sources
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
