La Belle Otero (1868-1965), Carolina Otero, Belle Époque singer and courtesan
La Belle Otero ... an inspiration for the Carlton's decoration
Carolina Otero wore extraordinary clothes and was covered in highly valuable jewels given to her by the “great and the good” of the day. Her breasts had such an aura that, according to legend, they inspired Charles Dalmas, the architect of the Carlton, when he designed the hotel's two cupolas.
Carolina Otero was born on 4 November 1868 in very humble circumstances in Spain. She began singing in Barcelona, then in Marseille. She then arrived in Paris, where she sang at the Grand Véfour restaurant, the Cirque d'Été, the Théâtre des Mathurins and the Folies Bergère.
In 1898 she appeared in a very short film in Saint Petersburg. It was one of the first films in history, made by an employee of the Lumière company (inventor of cinema), Félix Mesguich. The film caused a scandal in Imperial Russia because an officer of the Tsar appeared in a scene deemed scandalous, in which Carolina Otero dances her “Valse Brillante”.
She went on to sing in Moscow, London, New York, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. In Paris she was called one of the “Three Graces” of the Folies Bergère, along with Émilienne d'Alençon and Liane de Pougy.
Carolina Otero very quickly became a famous courtesan, sought after by wealthy men. At the height of the “Belle Époque” she was the courtesan of Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII of England and Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia.
According to legend, several men took their own lives for her. Another legend tells that at the Café de Paris in Monaco, five European rulers tried to catch her attention at the same time: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Edward VII of England, King Alfonso XIII of Spain and King Leopold II of Belgium.
At the end of the First World War, La Belle Otero retired. Carolina Otero had managed to amass a considerable fortune, left to her by her various admirers. It is said to have amounted to $25 million, which corresponds to around $350 million today. This allowed her to buy a sumptuous residence on the French Riviera in the Saint-Maurice district of Nice.
A big spender and an all too regular visitor to the Casino de Monte Carlo, Carolina Otero squandered her entire fortune over the following 25 years. By the end of the Second World War there was nothing left for her old age.
The director of the Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco, owner of the Casino, heard of her difficulties and, together with Prince Rainier, the SBM decided to pay her a modest pension for the rest of her life. This allowed her to live out her last 20 years in the small Hotel Novelty in the station district of Nice.
At the end of her life she lived completely detached from reality, listening to no one and talking endlessly about her past: the Hotel Carlton, the Hotel du Cap, the Hotel Hermitage, the other Hotel du Cap, the Hotel du Palais, the parties, the princes, Champagne ....
In 1954 Richard Pottier made a film about her life. The role of Carolina Otero was played by María Félix.
The city of Nice renamed the very modest “ruelle de Belgique”, next to 26 rue d'Angleterre, “rue La Belle Otero”. And in front of the “Caroline Otéro” guesthouse, which replaced the former Hotel Novelty, a plaque has been put up which, with no respect for an old lady who suffered reversals of fortune, reads: Here lived, from 1945 to 1965, Caroline Otero, known as La Belle Otéro, 1868 - 1965, frivolous queen of the Belle Époque.
The Hotel Carlton, thanks to “her portrait” sculpted on its twin cupolas, pays her a far finer tribute ...