MAXIM'S AND FIN-DE-SIECLE PARIS

Maxim's, which is featured in The Merry Widow, is one of the icons of fin-de-siecle Paris.

This period spanned the end of the eighteenth century and the very beginning of the nineteenth. It was a period of rapid change in the world. Modern scientific ideas changed the way man perceived the world: it was the time of Edison, Darwin and Pasteur; Parisian artists included Manet, Degas and other impressionists; writers such as Emile Zola and Oscar created a new literature and the Dreyfus affair created a new social awareness. The Victorian Era ended and the Edwardian began.

Maxim's was founded in 1893 and soon became legendary, the place to be seen. Edward VII frequented it, Louis Jourdan took Leslie Caron there in the movie Gigi, and Onassis wooed Maria Callas. As a young man Wolfgang Puck was a chef.

It is still very active and very expensive, but times have changed. No longer does Parisian society frequent it; it is now mainly the haunt of tourists. Since 1981 it has belonged to the couturier Pierre Cardin, and branches have been opened in cities such as New York, Moscow, Tokyo and Beijing.

But to lovers of operetta it lives on at its best as Count Danilo's favorite place.

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Revised September 2006
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