Comedie des Champs-Elysees
Exterior, with bas-reliefs by Antoine Bourdelle
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| Address | 15 avenue Montaigne Paris |
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| Coordinates | 48°51′57″N 2°18′10″E / 48.86584°N 2.3029°E |
| Owner | Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations |
| Type | Opera House |
| Capacity | 1905 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Architect | Auguste Perret |
| Website | |
| www.theatrechampselysees.fr | |
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. The theater is named not after the famed Avenue des Champs-Élysées, but rather after the neighborhood which it is situated in, the Quartier des Champs-Élysées.
Opened in 1913, it was designed by French architect Auguste Perret and founded by journalist and impresario Gabriel Astruc to provide a venue suitable for contemporary music, dance and opera, in contrast to traditional, more conservative, institutions like the Paris Opera. It hosted the Ballets Russes for its first season, staging the world première of the Rite of Spring on Thursday May 29, 1913, thus becoming the celebrated location of one of the most famous of all classical music riots.
The Theater, constructed between 1911 and 1913, was the first example of Art Deco architecture in Paris; built of reinforced concrete, and featuring rectangular forms, straight lines, and decoration attached to the outside on plaques of marble and stucco, it was a radical departure from the Art Nouveau style, and, at the time, shockingly plain in appearance.
The building's concrete construction was not merely a stylistic choice. Subsoil conditions and the site's proximity to the Seine made concrete necessary. Henry van de Velde was the initial architect, resigning when it was clear that the contractors, the Perret brothers, had a far deeper understanding of the project than he did—although the Perrets were not licensed architects and had another designer, Roger Bouvard, sign their plans.
The building includes an exterior bas relief by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, paintings by Édouard Vuillard and Jacqueline Marval, and a stage curtain by Ker-Xavier Roussel. The building houses two smaller stages, the Comédie des Champs-Élysées theatre on the 3rd floor, and the Studio des Champs-Élysées on the 5th floor.
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