French Singer YVETTE GUILBERT 1895 Hammerstein's Olympia Music Hall Program

Description

This is a rare oversized programme from the week of December 16th, 1985 for the bill of entertainment at OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN'S OLYMPIA MUSIC HALL in New York City ..... The headliner on the current bill was French singer YVETTE GUILBERT in one of her earliest stage appearances in the United States.
Also on the bill were Mlle. FRASETTY (Acrobatic Dancer), CHARLES KIRKE (Character Comedian), CHARLES LIFFLON (Strong Man on the Slack Wire), LES ANDORS (Transformation Instantees), Miss FLO BANKS (Singing Comedienne and Lancashire Specialty Dancer), The KURACHINS (On the Perpendicular Poles. The Only One in the World Throwing a Double Somersault Away From a Perpendicular Pole), MY FANCY (The Phenomenal Sand Dancer), The JOHNSON TROUPE (Performers on the Three Running Globes, Including Trio Juggling), The LEAMY TROUPE (Nellie, Emmie and Katie - Aerial Wonders - Inventors and Originators of the Novel and Marvellous Electric Revolving Cycle Trapeze Act), Signorita CIACINTA DELLA ROCCA (Violiniste), CHARLES NIELSEN URDOHL (International Female Impersonator), Mons. HEWELT'S (Marvellous Theatre Mechanique and Acting Marionettes, One of the Greatest Stage Novelities of the Age), Signor GENNARO VOLPE (Mandolin Virtuoso), HARRY LAMORE (Grotesque Wire Performer) and The DONATOS (One-Legged Clowns) ..... Biography: YVETTE GUILBERT (1867 - 1944)
was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Born into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert began singing as a child but at age sixteen worked as a model at the Printemps department store in Paris. She was discovered by a journalist. She took voice and acting lessons on the side that by 1886 led to appearances on stage at smaller venues. Guilbert debuted at the Variette Theatre in 1888. She eventually sang at the popular Eldorado club, then at the Jardin de Paris before headlining in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge in 1890. For her act, she was usually dressed in bright yellow with long black gloves and stood almost perfectly still, gesturing with her long arms as she sang. An innovator, she favored monologue-like “patter songs” (as they came to be called) and was often billed as a “diseuse” or “sayer.” The lyrics (some of them her own) were raunchy; their subjects were tragedy, lost love, and the Parisian poverty from which she had come.
During the 1890's she appeared regularly alongside another star of the time, Kam-Hill, often singing songs by Tarride. Taking her cue from the new cabaret performances, Guilbert broke and rewrote all the rules of music-hall with her audacious lyrics, and the audiences loved her. She was noted in France, England, and the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century for her songs and imitations of the common people of France. She was a favorite subject of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made many portraits and caricatures of Guilbert and dedicated his second album of sketches to her. Sigmund Freud attended performances, including one in Vienna, and called her a favorite singer. George Bernard Shaw wrote a review highlighting her novelty. Guilbert made successful tours of England and Germany, and the United States in 1895–1896. She performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Even in her fifties, her name still had drawing power and she appeared in several silent films (including a star turn in F. W. Murnau’s
Faust
). She also appeared in talkies, including a role with friend, Sacha Guitry.
Her recordings for La Voix de Son Maitre include the famous “Le Fiacre” as well as some of her own compositions such as “Madame Arthur.” She accompanied herself on piano for some numbers. She once gave a performance for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, at a private party on the French Riviera. Hostesses vied to have her at their parties. In later years, Guilbert turned to writing about the Belle Époque and in 1902 two of her novels (
La Vedette
and
Les Demi-vieilles
) were published. In the 1920s there appeared her instructional book
L’art de chanter une chanson
(How to Sing a Song). She also conducted schools for young girls in New York and Paris. Guilbert became a respected authority on her country’s medieval folklore and on July 9th, 1932 was awarded the Legion of Honor as
the Ambassadress of French Song
. Yvette Guilbert died in 1944, aged 79. She was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris
..... DETAILS: The oversized twelve page program measures 9 3/8" X 11 7/8" inches, has beautiful cover graphics and includes production credits, list of entertainers, a photo of the star and wonderful vintage advertising, but no bios ..... CONDITION: (Please Note!) The front and back covers are detached and have several small edge tears and tiny chips. There is moderate creasing to the inside pages and glue residue on the back cover (last scanned image). Despite these flaws, this rare program will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.