Berlioz in Paris

Cirque Olympique

    The Cirque des Champs-Élysées, also known as the Cirque Olympique, was an enclosed hippodrome off the Champs-Élysées.

    Berlioz composed the Hymne à la France for the Festival of Industry concert at the Cirque Olympique on 1 August 1844, which he conducted (see a review of this concert in The Times of 5th August 1844). He also gave four large-scale concerts here in 1845 (19 January, 16 February, 16 March and 6 April), as related in the Memoirs, ch. 53 (end). The concerts on 16 March and 6 April included music by Glinka, and that on 6 April included a performance of the Marche Marocaine by Léopold de Meyer which Berlioz had orchestrated. See also A concert in January 1845 for a contemporary review of the 19th January concert.

Cirque des Champs-Élysées, also known as the Cirque Olympique

(Large view)

This 19th century photo is in our own collection. The building is not extant.

Berlioz conducts his 19 January 1845 concert at the Cirque Olympique

(Large view)

This engraving appeared on page 325 of the 25 January 1845 issue of L’Illustration, a copy of which is in our own collection. At the concert Berlioz, conducted his newly composed La Tour de Nice, which was later revised and developed to become the overture Le Corsaire.

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