Picture of the Moulin Rouge front by night
Moulin Rouge Paris
History of the Moulin Rouge Cabaret
Carefree life, Flickleness and Joie de Vivre... Those are the three words that could best sum up this unique period in the History of France. It was a rest between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, during which the social barriers collapsed, when the industrial revolution gave hope of a better life for all, in a rich cultural profusion and that promised much fun. The middle-class mixed with the riffraff, the popular culture was enchanced in a contented disorder full of joy and vitality. In that atmosphere, which favoured artistic creativity, literary circles appeared and disappeared according to people'meetings, while painters and drawers got especially inspired by this joyful sometimes outrageous but full of fancy atmosphere that broke completely with the rigid classicism of that period.
Cabarets, such as Moulin Rouge in 1889
In the midst of this effervescence, the Butte-Montmartre figures as a place of symbolic meaning. In 1891, the Basilica Notre-Dame du Sacre-Coeur was inaugurated. It was hoped that, with the basilica on the hilltop, a little prestige would be brought back to the ill frequented hill. But against all expectations, the coexistence of this Holy place and its more nefarious slopes only gave more character to this Mecca of Parisian life. Eccentrics, artists and performers continued going to cabarets, music-halls and cafes in larger numbers, whereas middle-classes, aristocrats and socialites growing more and more attracted to night pleasures, began going there too. Café-concerts became the true symbol of this social and cultural melting-pot. Workers, artists, middle-classes and aristocrats gathered at the same table, in a joyful atmosphere of feast and frivolity. Among these cabarets, some have become famous : the Chat Noir with its rich settings created by Caran d'Ache, the Mirliton, the Folies-Bergeres, the Moulin Rouge... Here, the public came to listen to the anti-conformist songs of Aristide Bruand, the champion of eccentrics, prostitutes, unemployed, and of all those low life people that artists had long despised.
Tours including Moulin Rouge
Toulouse Lautrec and the Moulin
Here again, painters found their inspiration, such as
Toulouse-Lautrec, a regular customer in the quarter, who came to immortalise
the strange colourful scenes that are midway between frenetic entertainment
and the tragic life of the lower-classes, in famous paintings such as Le
Chat Noir and La Goulue. on the 6th October, at the
foot of Butte Montmartre, the atmosphere was pretty festive: a new
music-hall was opening in the Jardin de Paris, the Moulin Rouge, ... The
public came in mass to Place Blanche, to discover this extravagant place
with its huge dance floor, mirrors everywhere, and galleries that were the
last word in elegance, to mix with the riffraff and girls of easy virtue, in
a garden decorated with a big elephant with rides on donkeys for the
ladies'pleasure. There was such a wild atmosphere that the show was not only
on the stage but all around : aristocrats and louts in caps had fun side by
side, in an atmosphere of total euphoria.
Untill the beginning of World
War I, the Moulin Rouge has become a true temple dedicated to
operetta.
The Automotive fair (yes !)
on the 7th December 1904, many people from upper-classes gathered, who sang,
danced and regretted the end of a so delightful night. Whereas in 1907, the
charming novice Mistinguett, makes her debuts on the stage of the
Moulin
Rouge in 'La Revue de la Femme'. That was only the beginning of the
long story. Quickly, her exceptionnal talent blasted in public : as she
imitates the langourous jig of Max Dearly, she was the instigator of the
famous Valse Chaloupee (swaying waltz) and then became a shining Star in the
Music-Hall's firmament.
Moulin Rouge's revue popularity declined after Mistinguett's departure
After Mistinguett's
departure, nothing would ever be the same in the world of music-hall...
The 7th Art - as French
people call the cinema - overwhelmed the 'Great Revues' and the ballroom
became an ultra modern night-club.. however, the Moulin Rouge still had some
great moments : the acclaimed Cotton Club, which had had great success in
New York, the nights with Ray Ventura and his Collegiens... some
unforgettable moments before the dark years to come.
1939-1945 : Paris did not have much fun under the German's heel. The only ray of sunshine, a few days before the Liberation of Paris, was Edith Piaf, whose talent was becoming renowned, image who sang on the stage of the Moulin Rouge. In the first part of her show, a young man with a kind of "Cow Boy" was scheduled... Yves Montand. She later said about him : 'this guy who behaves as if he was in the plains of the Far West is nothing but a singer from Marseille... the height of vulgarity !.' He said in return that she was a merchant of depression. Exchange of kind words... but the Great Lady was not long to understand the potential of this lanky boy, who needed just a little help to change his appearance... Later on, he admitted then she had made him save time.
Cabaret show rebirth
was six years after World
War II before the Moulin Rouge recovered its former magnificence.
On the 22nd of June 1951,
Georges France, alias Jo France, the founder of Balajo, bought the Bal du
Moulin Rouge and set about renovating in order to allow the famous
establishment to hold again the most wonderful nights in Paris, and regain
its splendour of long-ago.*
Dance parties, entertainments and receptions for charity were back... among them, the 25th
Bal des Petits Lits Blancs (for hospitalized children), on the 19th May 1963
was a red letter day : some 1200 artists and stars came from every corner of
the world to honour Guy des Cars, the organizer of that night.
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