Charlie Chaplin, the one-man band, the exhibition at Paris Philharmonie

Everyone knows The Tramp, this burlesque character created by Charlie Chaplin in the 1910’s. A character with distinctive funny faces, his unique silhouette and playing a lot with his body on screen.

His career is displayed at the Musée de la Musique of the Philharmonie de Paris from October 11, 2019 to January 26, 2020, under the lens of music (a logical angle for the Museum of Music)… The exhibition takes us from his childhood to the last years of his career thanks to original pictures, works of art, rare documents, abstracts from movies and music.

From his early years, Charlie Chaplin is bathed in the world of art and show: we must say that he’s the son of two music-hall artists. He learns to play the piano, violin and cello and goes on music-hall stage at an early age in London and at 18 years old, he’s spotted by Fred Karno – the greatest British cabaret impresario from that time.

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It’s a tour in the USA that changes his life: he’s given a chance to become an actor. It only required 4 years to the young Charlie Chaplin to become one of the most famous celebrities in the world. At 30 years old, he cofounds the United Artists company and makes his first movies including The Kid (1921).

For Charlie Chaplin, music is a key element of his movies: his dancing body to the rhythm of the music is his signature. He wrote himself the soundtrack of his movies, starting from City Lights (1931).

The exhibition also focuses on the moment when movies go from silent to speaking, delaying dialogs in Chaplin’s movies to show emotions through music and movements.

Here’s a wonderful occasion to rediscover Charlie Chaplin’s 11 timeless movies to a unique music atmosphere!