La Cigale Theater, various shows and concerts, fashion shows

The La Cigale Theater is a café-concert hall located on the boulevard Marguerite-de-Rochechouart, in the Pigalle district, at the bottom of the Hill of Montmartre. Built in 1887 on the site of the Ball de la Boule noire ⁽¹⁾ (built in 1822). It has a capacity of about 1000 seats and specializes immediately in the review.

(1) The Boule Noire is now a 200-seat theater whose entrance is also at 120 boulevard de Rochechouart and adjoins the La Cigale theater. It is in the initial goguette that was launched the dance "quadrille des Lanciers" fashionable in the time of our great-grandparents. The current programming mixes both young talents and confirmed stars, mainly in the rock and metal music genres.

The different lives of La Cigale

The hall was enlarged in 1894 thanks to the architect Henri Grandpierre. The ceiling was painted by Adolphe Léon Willette. It hosts the shows of Mistinguett, Maurice Chevalier, Yvonne Printemps, Gaston Ouvrard, Arletty, Raimu, or Max Linder. Gina Palermo made her debut there in 1910.

In 1915, Madame Rasimi, director of the Ba-Ta-Clan, took over the management.

After the First World War, operettas, vaudevilles, and Jean Cocteau's futuristic evenings were performed there. A cabaret was set up in the basement of the establishment in 1924. But the first life of La Cigale ended in 1927: the caf'-conc. closed its doors. It was temporarily replaced by a small music hall called La Fourmi.

In the 1940s, La Cigale became a movie theater, specializing for a while in exploitation films (B series, sexy films, Kung-fu), then in X-rated films.

The rebirth of La Cigale

In 1987, reopening of La Cigale with the Rita Mitsouko, thanks to Jacques Renault and Fabrice Coat, two former second-hand dealers, and co-founders of the nightclub "Les Bains Douches". The room, transformed into a multi-purpose showroom, is modernized and decorated by Philippe Starck. The artistic and commercial direction is entrusted to Corinne Mimram. In January 2007, La Cigale signs a partnership with SFR and will be called La Cigale SFR for two years.

Since January 2011, it is managed by Jean-Louis Menanteau who is the new general manager.

The hall of the Cigale is directly connected to the neighboring Boule noire theater. The vestibule and the room of the former café-concert have been registered as historical monuments since December 8, 1981

La Cigale opened in September 2013 the restaurant "La Cantine de la Cigale" at 124, boulevard de Rochechouart. The restaurant is adjacent to the Cigale Theater. It is not uncommon to run into artists playing at La Cigale at the Cantine de la Cigale, in the afternoon or evening after the concerts.

All kinds of programming

Les Rita Mitsouko are the first in 1987. The biggest names of the international scene will also perform in its walls: Barbara Hendricks, Michel Petrucianni, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Jonasz,  Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Led Zeppelin. The hall also hosted Julie Zenatti, Indochine, Muse, The Allman Brothers Band, Status Quo, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, Iggy Pop, Charles Trenet, Bonnie Tyler, Jack White, The Kills, Kim Wilde, Kylie Minogue, Noir Désir, Dido, Renaud (for a free and private concert of 6 hours on September 29, 2007), Oasis, Radiohead, Blur, Page & Plant, Prince, Claude Nougaro, -M-, Manu Chao, Superbus, Norah Jones, The Dead Weather, Vincent Delerm (46 times), Gaspard Proust, Eric Clapton, Metronomy, Matmatah, Vald, Shaka Ponk, etc.

Within the group Because Music, La Cigale is also a revelator of artists: Justice, Keziah Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Manu Chao. The list goes on with the Festival des Inrockuptibles which took place for more than 20 years at La Cigale, as well as the Factory festival.

But La Cigale, a music lover, is also into humor: Michelle Laroque and Pierre Palmade play their creation: "They love each other". Edouard Baer, Jamel, Guy Bedos, Florence Foresti declaim their sketches. Pierre Palmade received a Molière in 1993 for his show "Passez me voir à l'occasion" at La Cigale.

And the show does not stop there! Fashion is also present: "Jean-Paul Gaultier" and "Comme des Garçons" transform the stage into a mode catwalk.

Naturally open to all curiosities, the diversity of its shows attracts all kinds of crowds and La Cigale even finds support from private partners (SFR, Yamaha, Fun Radio, Micromania, Redbull).

Another symbol of success is the cinema. Woody Allen for "Minuit à Paris" took advantage of the magic of the hall to set up his camera.

The performance hall

The hall, transformed into a multi-purpose auditorium, was modernized and decorated by Philippe Starck.

The hall can accommodate a maximum of 1,477 people (for concerts with a standing audience) or 954 people (for shows with a seated audience). The floor of the orchestra is equipped with a modular platform that can tilt and rise thanks to a hydraulic system.