13.7

//Source(s): CABARET by Lisa Appignanesi. Grove Press, Inc. New York. Originally published in Great Britain in 1975 by// Studio Vista. First published in the United States in 1976 by Universe Books. First Evergreen Edition 1984 ISBN 0-394-62177-8, LC 84-47500 pages 21-24 "But the true center of the new Chat Noir was the Theatre d'Ombres, the shadow theatre, a brain child of Henri Riviere which put all the Paris beau monde into a state of wonder by the brilliance of its technique and artistic innovation. The Theatre d'Ombres was a discovery in the true cabaret spirit. It was a genre which could be used for a variety of effects and incorporated all genres into a small scale replica of Wagner's 'total art work' (Gesamtkunstwerk). "Using an ingenious combination of shadow and light play, decor painted or superimposed on glass and paper, cut-outs and Japanese-style puppets, Riviere created unparalleled pre-cinematographic effects on the screen-stage. These were underlined by musical accompaniment, with a choir of sometimes up to twenty people backstage, piano or organ; by narration, either of the story-telling or satirical commentary kind; and by acting. The diversity of the shadow plays does credit to the eclectic black cat. One could pass without transition from the mysticism of Georges Fragerolle's *L'Enfant prodigue,* to Maurice Donnay's Athenian drama, *Phryne,* to the parodied naturalism of Louis Morin's, *Pierrot pornographe,* to the heroic epic, *Epopee,* which put Paris once again into a Napoleonic mood of patriotic jubilation. *Epopee,* a military play in two acts and fifty tableaux, was created by Caran d'Ache, one of the epoch's leading poster artists. Witnesses say that some of the shadow plays equalled in beauty Turner's impressionistic effects. "One kind of shadow play consisted of a satirical montage of current events, *piece bonemontee,* a newsreel with a difference. Salis (((Rodolphe Salis, impresario of the "Chat Noir" cabaret))) (...) would improvise a commentary, drawing in references to any notables in the audience. He had respect for nothing and no one, and with an insolent loquacity, Salis would allow his sharp sense of the actual to demolish bankers and the treasury, politicians and parliamentarianism, 'the grand monde, the demi-monde, tout le monde...' In this room, with its profligacy of cats in diverse positions and styles, Salis cast the mould for what was to become the cabaret tradition of the conferencier." (((The Chat Noir cabaret was founded in 1881 and the shadow-play seems to have faded circa 1900. -- bruces)))
 * Dead medium: Shadow theatre**
 * From: bruces@well.com (Bruce Sterling)**