Lido (variety show)

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The entrance area of ​​the Lido 2009

The Lido (also the Paris Lido , French: Lido , Le Lido , Lido de Paris or Plage de Paris ) is a revue theater in Paris. It was founded in 1946 by the Clerico brothers in a former swimming pool, which was already called the Lido, on the avenue des Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement . The theater is known for its lavish stage shows and performances by international artists from the show industry. The Bluebell Girls , the in-house women's ballet with its elaborate costumes, are an essential part of the stage program . The successful concept of the house was exported to Las Vegas in 1958, where it was performed for more than 30 years. The Lido, which is still family-owned, moved to a larger building in 1977, also located on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and is one of the most popular variety theaters in Paris, especially with tourists.

history

The name Lido

The Lido was originally located at 76-78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. This is where the Hôtel Dufayel, built in 1905 based on a design by Gustave Rives , stood . The property, which stretches from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Rue de Ponthieu, was acquired in the 1920s by the diamond trader and property owner Léonard Rosenthal , who had the Arcades des Champs-Élysées built here from 1925 to connect the two streets . Charles Lefebvre and his colleagues Marcel Julien and Louis Duhayon acted as the architect of this building, which was intended as a shopping mall for luxury shops . They chose a mix of Belle Epoque and Art Déco styles for the interior of the arcade, which opened on October 1, 1926 . In addition to old marble columns from the Hôtel Dufayel, there are contemporary decorative elements such as ironwork by René Gobert and lighting designed by the renowned engineer Fernando Jacopozzi . In addition, a glass fountain by René Lalique was part of the equipment, which is no longer preserved today. In 1928, a bathing establishment designed by René Hirtes opened in the basement of the Arcades des Champs-Élysées . This glamorous swimming pool had connected wellness facilities such as a sauna and a beauty salon and operated under the name Lido, based on the Lido di Venezia , the beach of Venice . The Venice motif was also reflected in the interior of the bathroom. Due to the popularity of this établissement, the Arcades des Champs-Élysées was given the nickname Arcades des Lido , which is still in use today, although the Lidotheater is now located elsewhere.

The old Lido

After the end of the Second World War , the brothers Jean and Joseph Clerico recognized the need for entertainment, both for the US soldiers in Paris and the civilian population. They took over the Lido and had it converted into a revue theater. The original furnishings of the swimming pool disappeared completely, only the name Lido was retained when the theater opened on June 20, 1946 with the revue Sans rimes ni raison ( Without meaning and understanding ). The Lido soon developed into one of the leading variety theaters in Paris, to which the theater director Pierre-Louis Guérin and, from 1947, the artistic director René Fraday played a major role. The concept of the Dîner-spectacle , a combination of a luxurious dinner followed by a revue, as well as the now legendary Bluebell Girls contributed to this . This group of long-legged dancers goes back to Margaret Kelly Leibovici , known as Miss Bluebell, who has been active in the theater since 1948 . The dancer from Ireland worked together with the choreographer Donn Aden on the stage show with the elaborate costumes with lots of rhinestones and ostrich feathers , which occasionally make the dancers appear bare-breasted. A hallmark of the Lido’s early years were the posters designed by René Gruau and Pierre-Laurent Brenot .

In addition to the company's own ensemble, guest appearances by French and international artists have been one of the highlights of the Lido shows. In the early 1950s, for example, comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy performed at the Lido. The Kessler twins came to the Lido from Germany in 1955 and were part of the regular program here until 1960. In 1958, the Lido operators exported their concept to Las Vegas . Pierre-Louis Guerin, Rene Fraday and Donn Arden traveled to Nevada for this purpose and developed the Lido de Paris program for the Stardust casino hotel , which was shown there with its own ensemble until 1992. Elvis Presley traveled to Paris as a tourist with friends in 1959 and repeatedly attended performances at the Lido. On one of these visits he gave an impromptu concert on the stage of the theater. Other show greats who made guest appearances in the old Lido included Noël Coward , Marlene Dietrich , Josephine Baker , Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf . From 1968 to 1970 Marlène Charell was part of the permanent ensemble , who met her future husband Roger Pappini here, who was then the technical director of the Lido.

Siegfried and Roy were engaged in the Lido from 1967 to 1969.

The Lido today

In the 1970s, Christian Clerico took over management of the company from his father Joseph. The idea arose to meet the continued high demand by increasing the number of seats. For this purpose, the company moved to the avenue des Champs-Élysées no. 116 in the former large cinema Normandy . The building, nicknamed the Accordion because of its striking facade, was originally built by the architect Jean Desbouis for the Poste Parisien radio station in 1928–32 . Before the Lido moved in in March 1977, it was renovated by the Italian architects Giorgio Vecchia and Franco Bartoccinder.

The new Lido covers an area of ​​more than 7,500 square meters. The auditorium has 1,150 seats. While the majority of these seats are in two auditoriums, there is room for 300 guests in the stalls, who can have their meals here at tables before the first show. In order to ensure an optimal view for all visitors, the parquet is hydraulically lowered by 80 cm in front of the performances. Since the move, the Lido’s sophisticated technical equipment has included the option of showing waterfalls on the stage or an area for figure skating performances.

The new Lido was and is always a venue for international stars. These included, for example, Shirley MacLaine , Tom Jones , Charles Aznavour , Sacha Distel , Ingrid Caven , Ute Lemper and Elton John . From December 2003 to November 2014, the Lido consistently presented the Bonheur program consisting of 23 different stage sets . The show, which cost 9 million euros to produce, was performed with two evening performances each day. Since April 2015, the new show 'Paris Merveilles', which was created by Franco Dragone, has been running twice a day in the evening.

literature

  • Ursula von Kardorff, Helga Sittl: Paris . DuMont, Cologne 1993, ISBN 3-7701-0874-4 .
  • Pneu Michelin (Ed.): Michelin, Paris . Paris 1995, ISBN 2-06-035203-7 .
  • Patrice Stable, Pierre Rambert: Les coulisses du bonheur . Flammarion, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-08-011428-X .
  • Daniel Frasnay: Les girls, Paris 1952-1979 . Greybull Press, Los Angeles 2005, ISBN 0-9727788-4-5 .

Web links