CESAIRE AWARDS 2008 by Elydjah Meyo

2008 3rd Edition

Tuesday, September 23rd At the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris www.lescesaire.com

les Césaire The Césaire de la Musique Awards become The Césaire Awards. www.cesairedelamusique.com / www.lescesaire.com

TThe Césaire Awards are presented by “Good Music Diffusion” in partnership with the CRAN.

Pictures and graphic designs by djéko

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CONTENTS The birth of the Cesaire Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The communication plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Award recipients list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Award presenters in 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Césaire Awards supporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The Césaire Awards Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The biography of Aimé Césaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The place : The Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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THE BIRTH OF THE CÉSAIRE AWARDS The Césaire Awards arose from the desire to value the Cultures and the afro-Caribbean Arts and the richness of the French cultural diversity. This event was created with the sponsorship and the blessing of Aimé CÉSAIRE, who accepted this project to carry his name. Aimé CÉSAIRE is the Bard of the negritude, a philosophy that conveys a universal message.

“A civilization which turns out incapable to resolve the problems which arouses in its functioning is a decadent civilization.” Aimé CÉSAIRE The initiator of the project, Frank ANRENTAR, a fervent admirer of the Writer, the Poet and the Politician Aimé CÉSAIRE and of his writings, considered convenient to honour him by choosing to give to the ceremony the name of this great man in order to celebrate his work. Four years were needed to build and bring forth this project. Many meetings were held with partners and celebrities to discuss the project. The ﬁrst meeting was obviously with Aimé CÉSAIRE himself in 2006 in order to seek his thought about the idea and his sponsorship for the project. He welcomed the idea warmly and accepted enthusiastically that the project carries his name. From 2006, the ﬁrst two ceremonies rewarded mainly the musical art. The 2008 edition widens henceforth to the other forms of arts, notably the literature and the cinema.

les Césaire The second ceremony of the Césaire Awards took place on Monday, October 22nd, 2007 at the Casino de Paris, the same place in 2006. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Communications, and by Jacob DESVARIEUX, a member and the founder of the mythical Caribbean group “Kassav”. Mr Christian ESTROSI, the Secretary of State, was our guest of honour for the 2007 ceremony. And among our famous guests, we could count, among many others, Harry ROSELMACK, the ﬁrst black anchorman on TF1, the major French and European TV channel, Christine KELLY, another black anchorwoman on LCI news channel and winner of the 2002 BlackWorld Victories Awards given by the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners in London, Stomy BUGSY, a French actor and rapper, Sebastien FOLLIN, the weather man on TF1, Joey STARR, one of the French biggest rappers, Corneille, the funk and soul music voices of the moment in Canada and France, Cyril CINÉLU, winner of the Star Academy 2006, the equivalent for the American Idol in France. A very enthusiastic crowd came to the 2007 ceremony. For the 2008 ceremony we are looking forward to welcoming a bigger audience and more celebrities from the political and the Arts scenes and from the civil society. The 2007 ceremony was broadcast during prime time on France Ô TV channel on January 1st, 2008 and it was qualiﬁed by the same channel as one of the best broadcasting productions of the year 2007 ! The negotiations are begun with major national channels such as TF1, Canal +, France 2 and M6 in order to broadcast the 2008 ceremony. 2008 is a very important year considering the death of Aimé Césaire. We intend to pay him a special tribute. The ceremony will take place in this mythical place called the “Théâtre du Châtelet”, a place whose fame exceeds the national borders. The 2008 ceremony will thus take place on Tuesday, September 23, in collaboration with the “Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires” the CRAN (the Representative council of the Black Associations in France), winner of the NAACP Recognition Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to advancing civil rights and social justice for all. Among the partners are the City hall of Paris, the Ministry of Culture and Communications of France, the Ministry of the French Overseas departments and territories, the Delegation for the Equality of opportunity of the French Overseas departments and territories. The new prizes this year : the 2008 ceremony will notably widen the Césaire Awards with the permanent introduction of the literature and cinema prizes notably. Besides, we will also introduce a television prize that will reward the productions emphasizing most the diversity.

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THE CONCEPT The CĂŠsaire Awards aim at rewarding and at promoting the cultures and the afro-Caribbean arts. They have for ambition to join the lineage of the ceremonies rewarding the Arts in France and in the world.

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THE OBJECTIVES Our goal is to participate in the French cultural diversity by bringing the contribution of the French Caribbean islands and the French-speaking countries of Africa to this set. The two last ceremonies were broadcast on 9 French overseas departments and territories and on the African continent through the France Télévision channels (RFO and France Ô) The Ceremony of the Césaire Awards contributes to the cultural efforts in which the other ceremonies rewarding Arts in France such as The Molière Awards, the César Awards, the Victoire de la Musique Awards, the NRJ Music Awards have participated. The expression of the Cultures and Talents brings dynamism and richness to the French culture that is why it deserves to be supported to allow it to really shine.

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THE CEREMONY We have planned two hours of magic and exceptional moments during which a “live” show garnished with humoristic sketches and poems will entertain the evening. Artists will perform on stage alternately with the Awards presentation. Between two prizes, the entertainment will continue with national and international famous artists : ∑music,∑ comedies, traditional ballets… The prizes will be presented by celebrities from France and abroad. Three important categories will join the Césaire Awards permanently from this year : two Literature prizes,∑ two Cinema prizes and∑ one Television prize.

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THE AWARDS After two years of existence and success, the 2008 ceremony of the Césaire Awards will continue this great adventure and will reward three Arts : Literature, Cinema and Music. In addition, two special prizes will be given, one for the Television and one for the Celebrity of the year. The categories will be constituted by 4 nominees, and the nominees will be those who have brought an artistic production to the public between June, 2007 and June, 2008. The nominations will be made according to the following categories : * The Music Awards – ∑Artist of the year – ∑Group of the year – ∑Video of the year – ∑New artist of the year – ∑Album of the year The winners of the prizes above are chosen by a public vote. * The Literature Awards (new category) - ∑The best ﬁction of the year - ∑The best essay of the year * The Cinema Awards (new category) - ∑The best ﬁction of the year - ∑The best documentary of the year * The TV Awards (new category) * Celebrity of the year The celebrity of the year will be someone who brought pride to the community by accomplishing a special achievement in their life and thus by becoming a role model. The nominees and the winners of the Literature, the Cinema and the Television prizes are chosen by a professional jury selected by the Césaire Awards Committee. The winners of the other prizes are chosen though a public vote.

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THE ENVIRONMENT A luxury reception space for the artists and celebrities. A press space. A radio / TV space: for dedications and interviews of the artists and the celebrities. A photo studio for the ofﬁcial pictures of the Césaire Awards that will be sent to the regional, national and international press. A meeting space for the publishers, the editors, the directors, the producers and the other professionals of the Arts.

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THE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE EVENT

∑Participation in national and international TV shows (TF1, Canal +, France Télévision, M6, CNN International, MTV, BBC), ∑TV ads, regional, national and international press, the Césaire Awards magazine, announcements during entertainment TV and Radio shows, interviews, contest sessions…

RADIOS CAMPAGNS

* ∑Regional, national and international Radios (RTL, Europe1, RMC, Skyrock, Africa n°1, RFI, Generations FM, Fun Radio, Ado FM, BBC, Tropic FM… - Radio ads ; - Live contests ; - Interviews. * Partner Radios : - Radio announcements : ∑from the 5th to the 17th of September : 8 announcements per day ; ∑from the 18th to the 23rd of September : 15 announcements per day. The Césaire Awards TV It is a news show in the Internet aiming at presenting the Césaire Awards and it will be broadcast once a week on Saturdays during the whole month of September. Radio Quiz Once per hour during the whole month of September on the partner radios and on the ofﬁcial website from August. * P∑artner and non-Partner Radios : From the 18th to the 23rd of September : 4 announcements per day (in the morning, in the noon, in the afternoon and in the evening).

EDITORIAL PRESS

- Launching of the Newspaper magazine on the Césaire Awards: 1 edition of 20,000 copies in September ; - National and international press ; - Daily, weekly and monthly national press ; - Specialized press.

- ∑A website dedicated to the Césaire Awards : www.lescesaire.com ; - ∑Broadcasting of the trailer and the video speeches of the celebrities supporting the event ; - ∑Internet Banners and Internet links on the partner websites.

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INTERNET

∑Broadcasting campaigns on www.zouker.com, from the 1st of August to the 23rd of September and posting of 10,000,000 banners.

NEWSLETTER

Sending of 2,860,000 e-mails : - Week 26 Press release, announcement of the dates of the Césaire Awards and the names of the Sponsors (more than 260,000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 28 Press release, announcement of the categories of the prizes and of the date of the press cocktail party (more than 260,000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 30 Announcement of the ofﬁcial website (more than 260,000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 32 The Césaire Awards Letter, current news, interviews (more than 260,000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 34 The Césaire Awards letter, current news, interviews and the beginning of the public votes (more than 260,000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 36, 38, 39, 40, 41 The Césaire Awards letter, current news, interviews (more than 260 000 e-mails to be sent). - Week 42 Announcement of the program and of the names of the celebrities attending the ceremony (more than 260 000 e-mails to be sent).

PRESS CONFERENCES

- ∑On Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at the City hall of Paris ; - ∑On Monday, September 15th, 2008 at the City hall of Paris.

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AWARD RECIPIENTS 2006 Best male singer Medhy CUSTOS

Best video of the year Thierry CHAM

Golden Césaire Award of the year Harry ROSELMACK

Best female singer Princess’ Lover

Best group of the year Magic System

Legend Award of the year Pascal LÉGITIMUS

Album of the year Corneille

The group of legend of the year Kassav

Best songwriter of the year Eric VIRGAL

Best new artist of the year Admiral T

Best duet of the year Médhy CUSTOS & Jane FOSTIN

Best male singer of the decade Patrick SAINT ÉLOI

Best song of the year Lord KOSSITY

Best traditional music of the year Marcé & Toumpac

Best female singer of the decade Jocelyne BÉROARD

2007 Best male singer of the year Fally IPUPA (D.R.Congo)

Best video of the year Goldee (Island of Martinique)

Best female singer of the year Milca (Guyana/Haïti)

Best group of the year Ziskakan (Island of Reunion)

Best songwriter Mehdy CUSTOS (Guadeloupe)

Best album of the year Abd AL MALIK (D.R.Congo)

Best artist of urban music Soprano (The Comoro Islands)

Celebrity of the year Patrick KARAM (Guadeloupe)

Best song of the year Kamini(D.R.Congo)

Best traditional music Gramoun SELLO (Island of Reunion)

Best new artist of the year Les Déesses (Africa and the Caraibbeens)

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LOCAL CELEBRITIES AWARD PRESENTERS IN 2007 Best female artist of the year Prize handed by Cathy JEAN-LOUIS & Ronald RUBINEL Best male artist of the year Prize handed by Sébastien FOLIN & Philippe LAVIL

Best album of the year Prize handed by Corinne COMAN & Christian ESTROSI

Best group of the year Prize handed by Lady LAISTEE & Sébastien FARRAN

Best songwriter of the year Prize handed by Patrick LOZES & Stomy BUGSY

Best urban artist/group of the year Prize handed by Firmine RICHARD & Tiwony

Best song of the year Prize handed by Christine KELLY & Basile BOLI

Best new artist of the year Prize handed by Marie-Josée ALI & Bernard LAVILLIER

Celebrity of the year Prize handed by Maureen NISIMA & Harry ROSELMACK

Best traditional music of the year Prize handed by Hortense NOUVIANS & Patrice FERUS

Best video of the year Prize handed by Lady SWEETY & Jacky (Neg’ Marrons)

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THE CESAIRE AWARDS SUPPORTERS Aimé CÉSAIRE (one of the greatest writers, poets, educators, activists and politicians of the 20th century) Pierre SANÉ (Unesco’s assistant director-general for social and human sciences) Pierre BERGÉ (Fondation Pierre BERGÉ Yves SAINT LAURENT) Jimmy JEAN-LOUIS (Hollywood actor, currently starring in “The Heroes”) Harry ROSELMACK (the 1st black anchor man on TF1, the biggest french and european TV channel) Alain MABANCKOU (writer and teacher at the UCLA University in Los Angeles and winner of the prestigious Renaudot Prize in France) Christine KELLY (anchorwoman on LCI news channel and winner of the 2002 blackworld victories awards given by the european federation of black women business owners in london) Jacob DESVARIEUX (Kassav group) Corneille (one of the funk and soul music voices of the moment in Canada and France) Pascal LEGITIMUS (a major actor in France and a ﬁlm producer who collaborated with the Van Peebles) Christian ESTROSI (secretary of state and mayor of nice) Stomy BUGSY (actor and rapper) Léon BERTRAND (former minister of transport) Sébastien FOLIN (the weather man on TF1 channel) Christine ARRON (an international athlete) Cyril CINÉLU (the 2006 star academy winner, an american idol equivalent) Soprano (a major rapper) Joey STARR (a major rapper) Pascal GENTIL (international athlete, 2002 and 2004 Taekwondo world champion) Aïssa MAGA (one of the most promising actresses of her generation in France)…

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THE CESAIRE AWARDS TEAM 2008 Security Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technical Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Special effects Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multimedia Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Logistic Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Labels & Artistic Relations Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Protocol member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics & Design Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technical Manager-assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Manager-assistant & Public Relations Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executive Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Protocol Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scenography Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Partners Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transportation and accommodation Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . After ceremony party member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manager of the Cinema jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . After ceremony party Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artistic director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photograph Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manager of communication of the specialist music press . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manager of the Literature jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member of the Cinema jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manager of Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Steve ANDRÉ Frank ANRETAR Patrick BASSET Willy BISSAINTE Blombix / David MOGADE Frédéric BULVER Ciryl COUDOUX / Warner Yorrick LARA Dan / Axty djéko DJ Halan Joseph DUNOYER Richard KEMPLER Stanley LANCELOT / Aline DANDJINOU Yannick Elydjah MEYO Didier MANDIN / Pascal THOMAS Charlène MUSQUET Audrey NICHOLAS Sanvi PANOU Philippe REIVAX Ronald RUBINEL Ernst SAINT AUBIN Fatima SANTOS Kalengué TAFIAL Louis-Georges TIN Jessie VARIN Ricardo VITA

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OUR PARTNERS 19

Premier Ministre délégation interministérielle pour l’égalité des chances des français d’outre-mer

L'ASSEMBLEE

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AIMÉ CÉSAIRE BIOGRAPHY Aimé Fernand Césaire, more commonly known as Aimé Césaire, was born on June 26, 1913 in Basse-Pointe, Martinique and died on April 17, 2008 in Fort-deFrance, Martinique. He was a poet and a French politician and one of the founders of the cultural movement known as the Negritude. His younger years and the rise of the concept of negritude In 1931, he traveled to Paris to attend the Lycée Louis-le-Grand on an educational scholarship. In 1935, Césaire passed an entrance exam for the École normale supérieure. With Léopold Sédar SENGHOR and Léon Gontran DAMAS, Césaire created the literary review L’Étudiant Noir (The Black Student), which was a forerunner of the Négritude movement. It is in the pages of this magazine that the term “Negritude” will appear for the ﬁrst time. This concept was invented by Aimé Césaire in reaction to the cultural oppression of the French colonial system. It aimed at rejecting the French project of cultural assimilation on one hand,

and at promoting Africa and its culture on the other hand, which was depreciated by the racism of the colonialist’s ideology. Created against the French colonial ideology of that time, the project of the Negritude constitutes an active and concrete humanism. It is a question beyond a partisan and a racial visions of the world, and the active and concrete humanism to all the oppressed of the planet. Césaire indeed declared : “I am of the race of those whom we oppress”. In 1936, Césaire began work on his book-length poem Cahier d’un retour au pays natal - Return to My Native Land - (1939), a vivid and powerful depiction of the ambiguities of Caribbean life and culture in the New World and this upon returning home to Martinique. Césaire married fellow Martinican student

The cultural ﬁght under the regime of Vichy The situation in Martinique at the end of the 30s was one of a country in the grip of a deep cultural alienation. The elites in Martinique preferred the way of life of their colonial metropolis, France, than their own. In literature, the rare works from Martinique of the time went as far as dressing an exoticism of good quality. This “Samboism” for which authors such as Mayotte CAPÉCIA are the upholders, was sharply going to feed clichés striking the population of Martinique. In 1941, in reaction to this situation, Aimé Césaire and Suzanne Roussi founded the literary review Tropiques, with the help of other Martinican intellectuals like René Ménil, Georges Gratiant and Aristide Maugée, in order to challenge the cultural status quo and alienation that then characterized Martinican identity. And the years of World War II were ones of great intellectual activity for the Césaires. Many run-

ins with censorship did not deter Césaire from being an outspoken defendant of Martinican identity. The Second World War provoked the blockade of Martinique by the United States (who did not rely on the regime of collaboration of Vichy) and degraded the living conditions. The regime established by the Admiral Robert, the correspondent of the government of Vichy, was racist and repressive. In the municipalities, the elected representatives of coloured people were fired and replaced by the béké representatives (descendants of the colonists). In this context, the censorship aimed directly at the Tropiques magazine, which appeared with difficulties, until 1943. The world conflict also marked the trip in Martinique of the surrealist poet André BRETON (who wrote about his trip in a book entitled Martinique, charmeuse de serpents). Breton discovered Césaire’s poetry through the Cahier d’un retour au pays natal and met him in 1941. In 1943, he wrote the foreword of the bilingual edition of the «Cahier d’un retour au pays natal», published in the “Fontaine” magazine (N°35) directed by Max-Pol FOUCHET and in 1944 in the collection “Les armes miraculeuses”. Césaire and BRETON became close during this

time. Breton contributed a laudatory introduction to the 1947 edition of Cahier d’un retour au pays natal, saying that «this poem is nothing less than the greatest lyrical monument of our times.» (“ce poème [n’est] rien moins que le plus grand monument lyrique de ce temps”). Nicknamed “the fundamental Negro”, Césaire inﬂuenced authors such as Frantz FANON, Edouard GLISSANT (who were his pupils at the secondary school of Schoelcher), the Guadeloupe born Daniel MAXIMIN and many others. His philosophy and poetry also deeply marked the African American and black intellectuals battling against the colonization and the acculturation. In 1945, with the support of the French Communist Party, Césaire was elected mayor of Fort-deFrance and député to the French National Assembly for Martinique. He was one of the principal drafters of the 1946 law on departmentalizing former colonies. Like many left intellectuals in France, Césaire looked in the 1930s and 1940s toward the Soviet Union as a source of human progress, virtue, and human rights, but Césaire later grew disillusioned with Communism. In

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Suzanne Roussi in 1937. Together they moved back to Martinique in 1939 with their young son. Césaire became a teacher at the Lycée Schoelcher in Fort-de -France, where he served as a source of inspiration and a role model for the new generation.

In 2006, he refused to meet the leader of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), Nicolas SARKOZY, then a probable contender for the 2007 presidential election, because the UMP had voted for the February 23, 2005 law asking teachers and textbooks to «acknowledge and recognize in particular the positive role of the French presence abroad, especially in North Africa», a law considered by many as a eulogy to colonialism and French actions during the Algerian War. President Jacques CHIRAC ﬁnally had the controversial law repealed. His writings reﬂect his passion for civic and social engagement. He is the author of Discours sur le colonialisme (Discourse on Colonialism) (1953), a denunciation of

European colonial racism which was published in the French review Présence Africaine. In 1968, he published the ﬁrst version of Une Tempête, a radical adaptation of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest for a black audience.

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1956, after the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union, Aimé Césaire announced his resignation from the French Communist Party in a text entitled Lettre à Maurice Thorez. In 1958 he founded the Parti Progressiste Martiniquais. In 1960, he published Toussaint Louverture, based upon the life of the Haitian revolutionary. He served as President of the Regional Council of Martinique from 1983 to 1988. He retired from politics in 2001.

Martinique’s airport at Le Lamentin was renamed Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport on January 15, 2007. From April 9, 2008, he had serious heart troubles and was admitted to Pierre Zobda Quitman hospital in Fort-de-France. He died on April 17, 2008, at age 94. Césaire was given the honour of a state funeral, held at the State de Dillon in Fort-de-France on April 20. President Nicolas Sarkozy was present. Pierre Aliker, who served for many years as deputy mayor under Césaire, gave the funeral oration. Before Aimé Césaire, only three writers had had a state funeral in France : Victor Hugo, Paul Valery and Colette. Comments are unanimous. Aimé Césaire is henceforth recognized by all: He was, still is and remains one of the lighthouses of our time.

Œuvres complètes (Three volumes), Fort-de-France, Desormeaux (1976).

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WORKS

Poetry Cahier d’un retour au pays natal, Paris, Présence Africaine (1939 et 1960) ; Return to my native land (bilingual edition), Paris, Présence Africaine 1968 ; Les Armes miraculeuses, (1946), Paris, Gallimard (1970) ; Soleil cou coupé, (1947), Paris, Editions K. (1948) ; Corps perdu, (gravures de Picasso), Paris, Editions Fragrance (1950) ; Ferrements, Paris, Seuil (1960 et 1991) ; Cadastre, Paris, Seuil (1961) ; Moi, laminaire, Paris, Seuil (1982) ; La Poésie, Paris, Seuil (1994) ; Collected Poetry, University of California Press (1983). Theatre Et les chiens se taisaient, arrangement théâtral, Paris, Présence Africaine (1958 et 1997) ; La Tragédie du roi Christophe, Paris, Présence Africaine (1963 et 1993) ; The tragedy of King Christophe, New York, Grove 1969 ; Une saison au Congo, Paris, Seuil (1966 et 2001) ; A season in the Congo, New York 1968, A play about Patrice Lumumba ; Une tempête, adapted from The Tempest by William Shakespeare : adaptation pour un théâtre nègre. Paris: Seuil, 1969, 1997 ; A Tempest, New York : Ubu repertory 1986. Essays ∑Esclavage et colonisation, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France (1948). Other writings ∑Victor Schoelcher et l’abolition de l’esclavage, Lectoure, Editions Le Capucin (2004) ; ∑Discours sur le colonialisme, Paris, Éditions Réclames (1950) ; Éditions Présence Africaine (1955) ; ∑Discours sur la négritude (1950). History ∑Toussaint Louverture, La révolution Française et le problème colonial, Paris, Présence Africaine (1962). Interviews ∑Rencontre avec un nègre fondamental (Meet the fundamental negro), carried out by Patrice Louis, Paris, Arléa (2004) ; ∑Nègre je suis, nègre je resterai (I am a negro and I will always be a negro), carried out by Françoise Vergès, Paris, Albin Michel (2005). Audio Recording ∑Aimé Césaire, Paris, Hatier, “Les Voix de l’écriture” (1994).

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THE THÉÂTRE IMPÉRIAL DU CHÂTELET The Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet opened its doors for the very ﬁrst time on 19 August 1862, in the presence of

the Empress Eugénie. The honour of inaugurating such a prestigious occasion went to “Rothomago”, a fantasy play written by d’Ennery, Clairville and Monnier. Seating 2,500 and boasting a stage of 24 x 35 meters, it was the largest

venue of its type in Paris at the time. It was an exceptional piece of work noted for its exceptional sound qualities, achieved by using floor parquet, wood-framed seating, and a dome glass roof for optimum sound reflection. The seating sloped quite a bit, opening up perfect sight lines to the orchestra stalls (somewhat reduced however by the numerous columns). With the tramway running along Victoria avenue and the Bateauxmouches ferry on the Seine river, the theatre was easy to access and attracted large numbers from the end of the 19th century, who came to applaud the fantasy plays and military dramas, two genres which underscored the theatre’s stage and fire effects, and machinery (unparallel anywhere else in the world for many decades).

Eclectic from its beginnings, Châtelet opened its doors to a wide range of artistic disciplines. In 1863, the renowned actor Frédérick Lemaître presented “Don César de Bazan”. This was followed by a regular stream of plays and adaptations including Alexandre Dumas (Twenty years later, Queen Margot), Emile Zola (Germinal, L’Assommoir), Paul Féval (The Hunchback) and Eugène Sue (The Wandering Jew). From 1873, Théâtre du Châtelet played a pivotal role in the French musical landscape with the setting up of the «Association des Concerts Colonne». Directed by its founder, Edouard Colonne to his death in 1910. The Orchestre Colonne presented turnof-the-century French composers (Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Massenet, Ravel…), rediscovered the

Created in 1876 and 1880 respectively, “Around the World in 80 Days” and «Michel Strogoff» were regular favourites, until the outbreak of World War II. Composers such as Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Richard Strauss and Debussy conducted their own work in Châtelet. Orchestras were also invited with Gustav Mahler giving his ﬁrst concert in France in 1900 at the head of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Châtelet was also home to operettas, variety shows and indeed, cinema with Méliès shooting two scenes for «The Four Hundred Pranks of the Devil» in 1906. Dance was not overlooked and Châtelet had its own corps de ballet. 1906 1906 also marked the beginning of the legendary seasons initiated by Gabriel Astruc, impresario and music publisher. This marked the major artistic revolution of the new century, with Châtelet at the head. Indicative of its importance is that it presented the French version of “Salomé”, written and

conducted by Richard Strauss in 1907. Two years later, a veritable earthquake shook the artistic circles of Paris with the ﬁrst Ballets Russes season, initiated by Diaghilev, combining opera and choreography. The evening of 19 May 1909 was a truly historic date with the capital’s artistic community saluting the agile prowess of dancers Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky, with set and costume designed by Alexandre Benois and Léon Bakst. A few days later, Feodor Chaliapin deployed his considerable talent to the delight of spectators for his second performance in Paris in the lead role of “Ivan The Terrible” by Rimski-Korsakov. In 1910, Astruc ran an Italian season with the troupe of the New York Metropolitan Opera of de New York, led by Arturo Toscanini. This was also an opportunity for Parisians to applaud the legendary Caruso in “Aïda”, “I Pagliacci”, or during the Parisian premier of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut”. In 1911, Gabriele D’Annunzio and Claude Debussy created the “The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian” in a set designed by Bakst with,

amongst others, Ninon Vallin and Ida Rubinstein. This year also marked the welcome return of the Ballets Russes with two pieces for the history books thanks to the genius of Nijinsky “The Spectre of the Rose” by Weber and “Petrouchka” with choreography by Fokine, set by Benois, and the score coming from a young composer: Igor Stravinsky. Always fond of surprising Paris, Diaghilev’s next season featured “Daphnis and Chloé” by Ravel, “Firebird” by Stravinsky and “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” by Debussy, where Nijinsky’s avant-garde choreography caused a scandal, preﬁguring similar tumult at the Théâtre des ChampsElysées in 1913 on the creation of “The Rite of Spring”. Despite the war, 1917 saw some major names working on “Parade”, the new show presented by the Ballets Russes, based on a theme written by Jean Cocteau, with the music by Eric Satie, costumes and set by Pablo Picasso and choreography by Leonid Massine. With the war over and Alexandre Fontanes at the helm, Théâtre du Châtelet took a very deﬁnitive, and successful, turn towards boosting revenues by staging more traditional works.

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genius of Berlioz, and also looked further aﬁeld presenting works from Mendelssohn, Wagner, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms and others.

The new Ballets Russes of MonteCarlo were back in Paris for the 1933-34 season featuring artists such as Chaliapin and Massine. In 1941, Maurice Lehmann had his greatest success with “Vienna Waltzes” by Johann Strauss father and son. A number of other successes followed including “L’Auberge du cheval blanc” (The

White Horse Inn) (1948), “Le Chanteur de Mexico” (The Mexican Singer) (1951), “Méditerranée” (the Mediterranean ) (1955), “Mr Carnaval” (1965) and many more, featuring leading names of the time such as Fernandel, Luis Mariano, Francis Lopez, Tino Rossi, Georges Guétary… 1966 Maurice Lehmann ﬁnally left

Châtelet in 1966. A number of directors followed, and in 1979, the Paris City Council decided to take back one of the most beautiful theatres in the capital. Their ﬁrst measure was to close it down for renovation. The orchestra pit and the stage ﬂoor were renovated and modernized. The basketshaped boxes were replaced by new seating.

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1928 From 1928 to 1966, Théâtre du Châtelet was directed by Maurice Lehmann, who had a penchant for operettas à grand spectacle and directed a number of shows himself. Lehmann was the ﬁrst to bring in popular Broadway musicals such as “Mississippi Show Boat” by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern, “New Moon” and “Nina Rosa”.

Cartier rapidly made a name for himself as a man open to innovation by initiating: - The “Grands Interprètes et Jeunes Talents” series by which a conﬁrmed artist mentors an emerging musician; - The “Festival d’orchestres” in June where 10 orchestras present their work over 10 days; - The “Opéras d’une heure” presented at 6.30 pm, opening the door to contemporary creation (Berio, Aperghis…) ; - Theme series focussing on a composer, an epoque or a country: “Operas of Verdi’s Youth”, “Russian Season”, “300 years of Handel”, “Rossini Season”, “Black Season”, “Schumann Season”, “Mozart Season”, “Baroque”, “Ra-

vel’s Complete Works” and “German opera”. Thanks to its packed program combining opera, operetta, musical, ballet, concerts and recitals, the new team has achieved its objective of bringing in a new public, rejuvenating the image of the theatre and making the Théâtre Musical de Paris one of the most vibrant musical venues in Paris. 1988 When Jean-Albert Cartier decided to leave the TMP, his assistant Stéphane Lissner took over the reins of management. The initial phase of this new management was marked by two series of renovation works during 1988 and 1989 commissioned by the Paris City Council to improve the acoustics of the house, and increase spectator comfort and visibility. Another public tender from the City Council in September 1989 commissioned painter Gérard Garouste to replace the old stage curtain, and Valerio Adami created a fresco for the foyer. In a return back to the past, the TMP went back to its old name of Théâtre du Châtelet. Stéphane Lissner’s objective was to put Châtelet back on the international

scene, and rebuild the reputation for creation and innovation that it enjoyed at the beginning of the century. One step in this process was to bring in all types of stage events and styles of music. Dramatico-musical works and 20th century repertory feature heavily in the program. Leading stage directors such as Luc Bondy, Stéphane Braunschweig, Patrice Chéreau, Adolf Dresen, Klaus Michael Grüber, Peter Sellars, Peter Stein, Pierre Strosser and Bob Wilson were put to work with leading conductors: Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, William Christie, Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jeffrey Tate… And, as the seasons passed, Le Châtelet forged for itself an international reputation for excellence and innovation. 1999 Performances were then discontinued for one season to modernize the stage house, and it reopened in October 1999 under the new direction of Jean-Pierre Brossman, former Director of the Opéra National de Lyon. Keen to pursue the path of eclecticism and diversiﬁcation, orchestra conductors were put to work with

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1980 Rebaptised the Théâtre Musical de Paris (TMP) and subsidized by the City of Paris, performances restarted in 1980 under the management of Jean-Albert Cartier and the Presidency of Marcel Landowski. The billing and the pricing were reviewed to appeal to a wider audience. From the outset, the TMP hosted several French and foreign productions, co-produced and participated in a number of festival and similar events (Festival d’Automne, dance, poetry, jazz, etc).

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directors and choreographers whose interpretations renewed received perception of the works by, for example, inviting orchestras or choirs specialized in each style. Plays, operas and ballets alternate with concert cycles entrusted to prestigious conductors and orchestras. The Festival des Régions at the end of each season reﬂects the vibrancy of the current opera landscape in France, with a regional playhouse, selected on the basis of its artistic forces and noteworthy productions, invited to Châtelet for the occasion.

The theatre receives, co-produces or co-directs a series of concerts with Radio-France and the Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Orchestres du Monde” series with IMG, the “Concerts du Dimanche Matin” (Sunday Morning Concerts) or Piano****. The Dance Film Library presents 4 or 5 ﬁlms a year. Since re-opening in October 1999, the Théâtre du Châtelet has made deﬁnitive measures to attract more young people, teenage students in particular. This was done by initiation classes based on the Châtelet program and by getting

sponsors involved (See Young Audiences page). Audiovisual recordings have been growing considerably in importance and now constitute an integral part of the Theater’s policy. 2006 Jean-Luc Choplin was appointed Director in July 2006, with the intention of making sure Châtelet built on its tradition of excellence in opera and dance, but also reaching out to people who usually would not go to theatre, with the creation of artistic events combing audacity and lightness.

Mr. Choplin’s target is to bring in 300,000 people each season to enjoy an eclectic program, making Châtelet a musical theatre which is joyful, open and educational.

2008