Folies Bergère facts for kids

Daytime view of the theatre, showing art deco sculptured plaque. Legend reads 'The most celebrated music hall in the world'.

Inside, it looks like this

Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882

Loïe Fuller at the Follies. Jules Cheret, 1893

The Folies Bergère is a nightclub in Paris which opened in 1869 as a music hall. It was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s until the Second World War. It is still in business.

History

It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trévise, offering operettas, comic opera, popular songs, and gymnastics. It became the Folies Bergère on 13 September 1872, named after a nearby street, the rue Bergère.

In 1882, Édouard Manet painted the famous A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

In 1886, Édouard Marchand thought up a new type of entertainment for the Folies Bergère: the music-hall review. Women would be the heart of Marchand's concept for the Folies. In the early 1890s, the American dancer Loïe Fuller starred at the Folies Bergère. In 1902, illness forced Marchand to leave after 16 years.

Performers

Many famous entertainers have performed at the Folies Bergère:

Filmography

• 1936: Folies Bergère de Paris with Maurice Chevalier
• 1956: Folies-Bergère with Zizi Jeanmaire
• 1956: Énigme aux Folies Bergère
• 1991: La Totale!

Images for kids

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  Jules Chéret, Folies Bergère, Fleur de Lotus, 1893 Art Nouveau poster for the Ballet Pantomime

• 

  Josephine Baker in a banana skirt from the Folies Bergère production Un Vent de Folie

See also

In Spanish: Folies Bergère para niños