Monday, 29 March 2010

The Fabulous 'Belle Otéro’
- Carolina Otéro (1868-1965)


I've been on the edge of this post for quite a bit - but it had seemed to fit me into a category in which I didn't think I necessarily belonged!

Whatever, here goes.

As a kid, I had a late C19 postcard of ‘La Belle Otéro’, a larger-than-life figure of the stage who seemed at the same time both fabulously beautiful, and curiously and sensually modern - a kind of Mata Hari without espionage. This unusual mix in part reflected, I later realised, her 'unconventional' theatrical beginnings.



Years passed as they do. And I hadn't given a thought to 'La Belle Otéro'.

And then to my utter amazement, I recently saw some film of her dancing ‘La Valse Brillante’ in St Petersburg in 1898 - shot by French film operator Felix Mesguich, a Lumiere Brothers employee.




There is such unexpected gusto and exuberance in the performance that I was curious to find out more about this intriguing character, who had made such an early appearance on my radar.

Barcelona born, Carolina Otéro worked her way through cafes, bordellos and music halls to become employed at the Folies Bèrgere in Paris in 1889, creating the gypsy character ‘La Belle Otéro’. Not unlike Louise Weber had done had done with the persona of ‘La Goulue’ (‘The Glutton’) at Le Moulin Rouge. But with the Spaniard being perhaps more on the 'refined' side.

It was at the Folies Bèrgere that Otéro indistinguishably meshed her private and public image– in part through a wardrobe of outlandish clothing, including her famous jewel and pearl encrusted brassieres.



(Please refrain from the obvious comment here! LOL)

From Paris, Otéro launched herself on the world – travelling and performing in all corners of the globe - Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris … .

Carolina Otero 'La Belle Otero' by Leo Rauth (1910)

And became, it was thought, the lover of King Edward VII, Tsar Nicholas II, the Grand Duke Peter, the Duke of Westminster … .



She amassed and lost a fortune ... in the approved manner.

At the height of her career, Otéro declared ...

Women have one mission in life: to be beautiful. When one gets old, one must learn how to break mirrors

However something of the allure of this actress/dancer/Folies Bèrgere star/courtesan lingers on today ...


... as legend has it that her breasts were the inspiration in 1912 for the cupolas of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France.
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2 comments:

  1. Paul in NYC30 March 2010 at 06:52

    NIck,

    And to think, she did all that without the internet and Twitter and Facebook to make her known. There's something so magnificent about people like her, so admirable. I have the feeling that, unlike the press-creations that (often) pass for "stars" today, there was something of great worth in folks like Otero.

    Thanks for this jolt of inspiration!

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  2. nickwallacesmith30 March 2010 at 07:57

    hi paul

    absolutely - just with a quill, so to speak

    i'm surprised she's managed to be so totally under the radar, given that she must have made a not an insubstantial international splash at the time

    though given her line(s) of work perhaps it was more quietly quietly

    i admire the sheer guts to make so much of a life - and from such a small start - and you are right, today the press can fabricate you up, but then and with only a quill ... not going to happen!

    i loved her in a sense living on in the cupolas of the Carlton Hotel

    good to hear, best, nick

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