Olympia (Paris)

[4] In the same year, Oller collaborated with Charles Zidler to build the roller coaster in the courtyard on 28 Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, near the Opéra Garnier, at the time of Baron Haussmann's urban renovation.

[7] It contained panels in Sarreguemines' faience, and the murals highlighted painting technique marouflage, illustrating English castles and landscapes, echoing the dominant popular style.

[3] On 12 April 1893, the 2,000 capacity venue named L'Olympia was inaugurated as the first Parisian music hall, featuring acrobats, cross-dressers, and a can-can dance performance of La Goulue.

[14] In a city that only had cafés-concerts, the Olympia with its spacious hall attracted all Parisians enjoying ventriloquists, juggler acts, and numerous ballets and revues.

[16] To differentiate itself from the Folies Bergère, the Olympia imposed itself a different scheduling system by presenting its new ballet creations over a duration of weeks rather than months, alternating with the oldest ones revamped.

[16] Along with the Folies Bergère, the Olympia scheduled appearances by some "stars" such as La Belle Otero, Émilienne d'Alençon, and Liane de Pougy.

[16] In 1895, Oller, overflowing with activities, opened a museum of wax's mannequins in the basements of the Olympia, representing a visual history of the world from the Passion of Christ to the French Revolution, until the modernity of that time.

[7] In 1898, brothers Émile and Vincent Isola, two magicians who began a career as Paris' venue executive directors, became the commercial tenants of the Olympia, as well as of the most popular theaters in the city, such as the Folies Bergère in 1901 and the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1903.

[19][13] The Isola brothers brought attractions from all over the world to Olympia, playing host to multiple entertainment types, and increased the proportion and the spectacular.

[20] Despite the success of the ballets attested by La Belle Aux Cheveux d'Or and Sardanapale, the preferences of Émile and Vincent Isola settled firmly towards operettas, especially revues.

[20] Of the few ballets appearances, a limited number of restaged productions from Louis Ganne ensued at the Olympia, such as Au Japon in 1903, performed for the first time at London's Alhambra.

[21] Choreographed by Curti, Paquita, and L'Enlèvement de Psyché debuted on the London stage in 1909 and 1910, respectively, while Papillon d'Or was first performed at the Empire Theater with music composed by Leopold Wenzel.

[21] In 1911, Jacques Charles was trained by both brothers and worked his way up through the Olympia, and became the new executive director, then transformed it into a temple of the revue, entering the "most luxurious period of the place".

[21] By 1912, the Olympia presented a number of American music hall performers, and also French singers such as Lucienne Boyer, Mistinguett, Damia, Fréhel, Georgius, and Yvonne Printemps.

Volterra negotiated to take charge of the program's sales of Olympia's first dance hall called Le Palais de la Danse, becoming increasingly wealthier.

[24] The Olympia closed its doors for a short period at the beginning of the First World War, while Oller, still the commercial property landlord, struggled financially due to late rent payments and non-payments.

[13][24] Volterra partnered with Olympia chief conductor Raphael Beretta to manage stage shows, giving money to Oller, who "expressly agreed-upon" and Charles' tenant agency, then reopened the music hall one month after the First Battle of the Marne.

[29] In 1931, Haïk lost all of his real estate companies but returned to film production, built several theaters starting in 1934, and regained a healthy financial situation over the years.

[32] Subsequently, the responsibility for the business operation of the Olympia, in its configuration of a movie theater, moved away into a new commercial film company called Gaumont Franco-Film Aubert, then later Pathé, and was finally acquired by entrepreneur Léon Siritzky.

[32] On 5 February 1954, Coquatrix revived it as a 2,000-seat music hall with a grand re-opening organized by Lucienne Delyle and Aimé Barelli, who presented that evening a singer unknown at the time, Gilbert Bécaud, who sang three songs.

[43] In 1955, renowned jazz musicians as Billie Holiday, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald were received every Wednesday and Saturday at the Olympia.

[30] The music hall was saved by the performance of Piaf heading the bill for three months in a row—including some offered for free to Coquatrix—accompanied with live shows by Tati provided at the entrance of the venue and on stage.

[30] In 1972, Alan Stivell popularized the style of Celtic music in France by playing at the Olympia, paving the way for Glenmor, Dan Ar Braz, and Tri Yann.

[47] Another project was also mentioned to rebuild a scaled-down version of the Olympia after demolition, but Boris, who was at the head of a support committee, went to negotiate with the Société Générale's CEO.

[48] A contestation and continued support from French artists and Lang ensued to maintain the building's historic integrity, which led to Olympia's sustainability through a preservation order established on 7 January 1993.

[49] In 1995, as part of the real estate project initiated in 1993, which required 1 milliard of new francs of investment, the Edouard-VII area in the 9th arrondissement, where the Olympia was located, began to undergo "a radical" demolition and reconstruction.

[nb 3][50][51] On 14 April 1997, a gala evening was broadcast live on television with reputed French singers, in honor of the Olympia and support of the following months of closure.

[32] Coquatrix had decided to have the exterior facade of the venue redone, thus making it possible to announce the names of the artists in capital letters updated every day below the signage of the Olympia.

[30][47] Classified as Monument historique, the billiard room in Teal blue of 130 m2 (1399 ft2) has been preserved and renovated, keeping its ceramics and mural panels depicting British landscapes such as Falls of Clyde, Warwick Castle, Tower of London, adorned with carved woodwork.

[citation needed] Jeff Buckley, long an admirer of Piaf, gave what he considered the finest performance of his career there in 1995, which was later released in 2001 on Live at L'Olympia.

The Isola brothers commissioned cinema pioneer Georges Méliès to create a film component for the ballet production Vers les étoiles , presented in 1906 at the Olympia. This production still has survived; the film is believed to be lost. [ 18 ]
Olympia seen from Boulevard des Capucines in 1913
The famous red neon facade
Umm Kulthum checking a banner for her concert in Olympia, 12 November 1967