Valentino Tous les Soirs poster – Jules Chéret – 1872

Poster: Valentino Tous les Soirs poster – Chéret – 1872

This vintage French Music Hall Poster was created and printed by Jules Chéret to advertise the regular ballroom concerts at Salle Valentino, named in honour of the French conductor and violinist Henri Valentino. 

Before arriving at Saint Honoré, Henri Valentino had already been deputy conductor at the Paris Opera, Second Conductor at the Chapel Royale and First Conductor at both the Paris Opera and the Opéra-Comique. Valentino retired from the Opéra-Comique on April  1836.

In 1832, with the help of a financier, a Phillippe Musard produced concerts at the Théâtre des Variétés which catered to the Parisian taste at the time with concerts of “lascivious spectacle”, involving girls dressed in only feather boas and gloves. Such was the frenetic delirium of these concerts that writers of the time compared them to a civil war, or even a massacre.

By 1838, Musard had acquired the services of Henri Valentino and between them, they inaugurated a series of concerts at Salle Valentino. The venue was a spacious hall furnished with mirrors, couches, ottomans, statues, fountains, and floral decorations, and at one end a café attended by a troupe of ‘perfumed waiters’. Salle Valentino was a popular venue that now offered concerts of dance music and masked balls.

In the promenade concerts put on by Musard, the audience was free to move around the concert area, along with activities including dancing to quadrilles, waltzes and other forms of dance, drinking, and eating. Valentino’s role was to perform music that would introduce the audience to a higher class of music. These performances were known as the Concerts Valentino and combined instrumental pieces by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as well as turn-of-the-century French composers.

The concerts were extremely popular, but the orchestra was always close to insolvency and the 1839 season was cut short and the venue shut down in 1841. After the closure of the venue, Valentino retired to Versailles. The hall was used as a ballroom, retaining its name Salle Valentino.

By this time Musard had attained huge personal popularity. He was one of the most famous personalities of Europe during the 1830s and 1840s. His concerts in Paris and London were a huge success. According to Wikipedia, Musard became the first celebrity conductor. It was Musard, along with Jullien, who placed the conductor as a musician on par with the most prominent virtuosos. Audiences attended his concerts not only for the music, but to see the man himself in the act of leading the orchestr. Musard employed wild gestures including the hands, feet, arms, knees, and not the least grotesque facial expressions when leading. As a result, rumors circulated that he made a deal with the Devil, preceding Paganini’s reputation.

The concerts advertised were conducted each evening by Derensart another conductor that worked at Salle Valentino.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.