"Музей Мадам Тюссо"
статья по английскому языку

           Реферат по теме «Музей Madame Tussaud»                              

  Contest:

I. Introduction ……………………………………………………….2

II. The Biography of Madame Tussaud ……………………………3      

III. Madame Tussaud’s Museum …………………………………. 5

IV. Conclusion ……………………………………………………….7

V. List of Literature …………………………………………………8

                                        I. Introduction

    My work is devoted to Madame Tussaud and her world-famous museum. It is one of the popular wax museums in the world.

     The goal of my work is to learn more about Madame Tussaud and the museum.

     In the museum you can come face-to-face with some of the world’s famous people. You can see figures created by Madame Tussaud herself and the latest hi-tech computer animations. The rule at Madame Tussaud’s is “touch, don’t just look”. So, you can touch your favourite personalities.  

    Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg in 1761 and christened Marie. From her childhood she was interested in wax figures and learned modeling with Dr. Curtius. In 1790 she moved to Paris. In the following years she married a French engineer Francois Tussaud and gave birth to 3 children, a daughter, who died and 2 sons.

     From 1803 to 1835 Madame Tussaud toured England, Scotland and Ireland. Her exhibition was popular in Europe.

    After her death in 1850, her 2 sons continued the work. The popularity of Madame Tussaud’s grew and now it is one of the most famous museums in London. The “Tussaud’s” is synonymous with excellence in the creation of wax figures.

                       II. The Biography of Madame Tussaud

         Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg in 1761 and christened Marie Grosholtz. Her father, a soldier, was killed in battle during the Seven Years War (waged by Prussia and Britain against Austria, France and Russia) only two months before Marie's birth. For the first five years of her life Marie lived in Berne with her widowed mother, who worked as housekeeper for Dr Philippe Curtius — a physician with considerable skill in modeling anatomical subjects in wax. Soon, Marie and her mother moved with Doctor Curtius to Paris; unwittingly, they had entered a creative and politically fascinating world.

     The story of Madame Tussaud is as fascinating as that of the exhibition itself. Two things about her life are especially noteworthy. First, she spent her early years amid the turmoil of the French Revolution and came to meet many of the characters involved; second, and perhaps more unusually, she succeeded in business at a time when women were rarely involved in the world of commerce.

      Dr Curtius acted as a tutor to Marie, schooling her in the techniques of wax portraiture and casting. She was soon allowed to model the great figures of the time. Among them were Francois Voltaire and the American statesman Benjamin Franklin; both of these figures are still on display at Madame Tussaud's today.

   From the earliest figures on display - including Sleeping Beauty and the original death mask of Robespierre - to the most current examples of sophisticated animated figures (called 'audio-animatronics'), 200 Years is a celebration of Madame Tussaud's long and varied history. Sleeping Beauty is an early example of animatronics: her chest rises and falls to mimic breathing.

      Over the years Madame Tussaud's has established a reputation for excellence, constantly updating figures and adding to the collection. 200 Years is an opportunity to see at first hand some of the developments that have made the name of Madame Tussaud's synonymous with the best in three-dimensional portraiture.

      Alongside examples of figures from the last two centuries (including the half-burned figure of George IV, damaged during the disastrous fire of 1925) are exhibits showing how Madame Tussaud's sculptors model from life — taking many measurements and photographs. There are also moulds and an interesting collection of heads from the past displayed along an entire wall.

     Marie proved a talented protégé. She inherited the exhibition from Curtius.

In 1790 she moved to Paris. In the following years she married a French engineer Francois Tussaud and gave birth to 3 children, a daughter, who died and 2 sons.

    In 1802 she seized the chance to tour the exhibition in England. Leaving her husband and younger son behind she came to London with her signature revolutionary relics and wax figures.

     From 1803 – 1835 Madame Tussaud toured England, Scotland and Ireland. Before daily newspapers her exhibition was like a travelling tabloid, a prized source of information about the Royal Family, sensational murders, scandal and war. Before photography she was the original paparazzi giving visitors the chance to get close-up to the famous and infamous.

     In London in 1835, when a popular diva died, Madame Tussaud produced a wax portrait. This proved a magnet from public mourning and takings doubled. This coup emboldened her to settle in London permanently. The business “Madame Tussaud and Sons” quickly became a household name in Victorian London advertised on horse-drawn omnibuses and was even immortalized by Charles Dickens.

     After her death in 1850, her sons Joseph and Francis continued to trade under the mother’s name and followed her formula for sustaining and reflecting public interest with constant updates and new additions of topical figures. Continuing to grow in popularity across the next 150 years Madame Tussaud’s is now one of the most famous visitor destinations in London.  

                           III. Madame Tussaud’s Museum

       For more than 200 years Madame Tussaud's has been enchanting and entertaining visitors fascinated by its representations of the famous and infamous. Today, over 2 million people from all over the world visit the exhibition each year, making it one of Britain's most popular attractions. It is still the most popular and talked about wax exhibition in the world, and has become synonymous with excellence.

      This site takes you on a journey through Madame Tussaud's. Beginning with the history of the exhibition, and of Madame Tussaud herself, you are led through the Garden Party, 200 Years, Superstars & Legends, the magnificent Grand Hall, the notorious Chamber of Horrors and, finally, to The Spirit of London — the latest spectacular attraction in Madame Tussaud's never-ending process of development.

     The story of Madame Tussaud is as fascinating as that of the exhibition itself. Two things about her life are especially noteworthy. First, she spent her early years amid the turmoil of the French Revolution and came to meet many of the characters involved; second, and perhaps more unusually, she succeeded in business at a time when women were rarely involved in the world of commerce.

Madame Tussaud shown taking a death mask from the severed head of Marie Antoinette.

     There are several halls at Madame Tussaud’s.

• In Blush you can see world-famous people such as Madonna, Daniel Redcliffe, Brad and Angelina and others.
• In Pirates of the Caribbean you can share the adventures of the world’s most loved pirate Jack Sparrow.
• In Sports Zone there is David Beckham and other footballing stars.
• In Royal Gallery you can see Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth II, Henry VIII, and popular princes William and Harry.
• In Music Zone you can meet Beatles, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and other megastars.
• In World Leaders Gallery you will be inspired by such leaders as Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Vladimir Putin and many others.
• In Chamber of Horrors you can see heads of dead people, murderers and their victims and instruments of torture.
• The Spirit of London exhibition shows a period of more than 400 years and spans London History from Elizabethan times to the present day.

You will take a ride in the back of a black cab and you will visit an Elizabethan theatre. You will go through the Plague and the Great Fire, you will see St Paul’s Cathedral being built and so on. Many of the figures are animated: they talk and move. And you will finish your excursion with an offbeat look at the world of celebrity through the eyes of alien visitors in a short film from Ardman Animations – “The Wonderful World of Stars”. The film is projected onto 360 degree screen on the Stardome ceiling.

     The Spirit of London is a new milestone for Madame Tussaud's. Covering a period of more than 400 years, the experience spans London's history from Elizabethan times to the present day, capturing the essence of London's pomp and circumstance. Sights, sounds and even smells combine to tell the colourful story of Britain's capital city to visitors travelling in cars specially designed to resemble London taxi-cabs.

• Grand Hall

This large and imposing room recreates the atmosphere of the grand 19th-century setting in which Madame Tussaud displayed her collection.

      Assembled here are some of the world's leading public figures, including men and women who have made a lasting impact on our lives, and whose memories still live on. Kings and Queens, great statesmen, religious leaders and those who have achieved distinction in the arts are all brought together

                                            IV. Conclusion

      Nowhere are the modelers' skills more critical than in Madame Tussaud's renowned depictions of superstars — past and present — for it is they who are among the most familiar of 20th century icons, seen daily on television, in the press or at the cinema.

      No effort is spared in attaining accurate likenesses of major stars of the day. If they are unable to attend Madame Tussaud's London studios, then the sculptors will often go to them.

      Then there are those who have become legends: giants of the silver screen such as Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Marion Brando, whose fame has outlasted them and whose portraits have been on display since first exhibited.

    The “Tussaud” name remains synonymous with excellence in the creation of wax figures. Madame Tussaud was a woman who really understood the meaning of celebrity and sought to make it accessible to everyone.

                                     List of Literature

1. Нестерова Н. М. Страноведение: Англия. – Ростов-на-Дону: Феникс, 2001.

2. Сатинова В. Ф.  Читаем и говорим о Британии и британцах. Минск: Высшая школа, 2003.

3. Тимановская Н. А. Взгляд на англоговорящие страны. –Тула: Автограф, 2005.

4. M. Vaughan-Rees. In Britain. – М.: Титул, 1998.

5. www. greatbritain.com