Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Le Chanteur de Mexico


At the moment in Le théâtre du Chatelet, one of the all time most famous French operettes (light opera) is on stage: Le chanteur de Mexico. This type of "musicals" was famous in the 50's right after the war (my mother used to love them!) and totally disappeared between the 70's and the end of the 90's. Since history repeats itself, it seems that l'operette is back into fashion: I am told the theatre is full and and will be until the end of the season. I am unable to tell you if it's a good or bad news!


26 comments:

  1. Love those colors! Another great shot.

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  2. Nice work, Eric, wonderfull photos! Thanks for you site and keep the good job!!! :-)

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  3. Wow the artist has a real sense of humor!

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  4. nice photo and intersting piece of information too!

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  5. Oh...I really like this one!! Only in Paris!! We need more people with creative minds in San Francisco.."Le Chanteur de Mexico" would fit right in!! Ole??!!

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  6. Le Chanteur de Mexico was, if I am not mistaken, originally created by the great French (well, actually, he was Basque, born in Spain) operetta singer Luis Mariano in the early 1950's. It was also made into a movie (with Luis Mariano and Bourvil.)

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  7. Great photograph Eric! It reminds me of stuff that I have only seen in Mexico. Love the colors.

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  8. Wow~~such a colourful ad!!
    :)
    And yes, its very interesting that history repeats itself, and the fashion!
    ...Jing

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  9. I see what mdx means about the artist having a sense of humor. Well, if they're good enough for Mick Fleetwood then who are we to snigger at door handles?

    It does remind me of a limerick, however:

    There once was a man from Montrass,
    Who had balls that were made of fine brass.
    In stormy weather,
    They both clanged together,
    And sparks flew out of his ass!

    My sincere apologies to any Puritans in the neighborhood.

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  10. Mmmm, very colorful picture!
    The sideburns and the pink/black mix give the mariachi a very modern look. Definitely not from the 50's!!!

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  11. I love this photo when it's blown up Eric. Not sure it's the kind of show that would interest me, but if anybody has been to it and can give a review, it would be interesting to hear.

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  12. Belle photo, affiche tres kitsh et tres reussie

    Juste a cote, tu as une affiche de Lavillier chantant Ferre. Au choix prefence pour Lavillier.

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  13. Lovely color interesting poster! don't know why but it makes me think of a thai film 'Les larmes du tigre noir' which i like very much ;-P

    Seems to me the poster is painted ??? anyway what a sense of humour, the entrance to the theatre is...

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  14. > Percy : I too see was amused by the door handles. It seems like the decorateur of the Chatelet was very much inspired by Pierre & Gilles picture !…

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  15. How great to be able to visit Paris every day, while sipping my morning coffee.

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  16. Percy & GG...I'm a little slow today and hadn't made the link with the door handles! Very observant you are!

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  17. I was going through my "Cuban Period" during the seventies. I loved the many operettas especially one called "Maria La O" and another called "La Violetera." I hope the musical is still running in June of 2007 when we will be in Paris. The "painting" reminds me of the works of Freda Culhol (sp?). We saw a play about her in Paris..June 2005. His face looks like hers only she had definitive eyebrows.

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  18. > Michael : "slow"… this is so unlike you !…

    > Johnnyparsons : It will stop in november but… run again from june 19th till july 1st. Aren't lucky !!!
    More information on http://www.chatelet-theatre.com

    "Freda Culhol", may be you mean Frida Kahlo ?

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  19. Oh....(snort)ha, ha....I didn't even notice the door handles until Percy pointed them out. I wonder if the artist meant to do that.

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  20. Thanks GG....yes, Kahlo it is. We return to Lexington on the 17th of June...tant pis, alors. Again, thanks for the info.

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  21. Hi Eric, Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope your vacation was nice too. What a vibrant and inviting advertisement! Percy thanks for the laughs - your poem and link are ROFL material.

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  22. I just wish my country was that colorful and people were that happy.

    Nice pic!

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  23. That is a great photo! super colors, excelent job Eric, but I'm sorry, I'm not agree with the publicity, I'm mexican and see a "charro" (tipical mexican singer popular music) like that is insultant.
    I don't know about that opera, I just hope that don't get funny about the mexican "charros" like the poster.
    Congratulations about your pictures, this is a fantastic blog!
    Rosy

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  24. > Rosy : that operette certainly doesn't aim at despising Mexico. Moreover this poster makes one want to discover your country (whatever the motivations !)… Which, I'm sorry to say, isn't at all the case of your comment !
    It seems "sense of humor"is the keyword…

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  25. I'm Mexican and I don't find the picture insulting at all. Playing with stereotypes is fun if done with taste. I'm sure that this operette has a positive effect in people's idea about Mexico.

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  26. Rosy: I think I know what you're trying to say about not wanting your culture to be depicted a certain way - I've seen strange representations of the French, too, in comedy and plays in the States - but don't read into this one too much, though.

    As far as I remember, the Parisians think Mexico is an exotic, desirable, heavenly sort of vacation destination, and I'm not sure they'll understand your comment. Kind of like saying "Spain" to an American.

    And then again, I might be completely off...

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