The article examines the insuffi ciently studied phenomenon, which emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Special attention is paid to many facets of the cabaret life affected by the cultural situation marked by the Arts crisis. The theoretical study is amplifi ed by a close textual analysis, which helps to probe into early cabaret history, its major phases, tendencies, and inherited traditions, as well as into the relationships the tenth muse had with other arts.