Noble Blood – “The Princess Onstage at the Moulin Rouge” (September 30, 2025)

Podcast: Noble Blood
Host: Dana Schwartz
Episode: The Princess Onstage at the Moulin Rouge
Length: ~30 minutes (excluding ads and outro)

Episode Overview

This episode of Noble Blood explores the audacious and scandalous life of Clara Ward (1873–1916): American heiress, Belgian princess, notorious socialite, runaway lover, nightclub performer, and a woman who turned society’s expectations upside down. Host Dana Schwartz narrates Clara’s dramatic journey from Gilded Age Detroit heiress to Parisian sensation, with a special focus on her infamous performance at the Moulin Rouge and her defiant pursuit of freedom—often at staggering personal cost.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Stage: A Scandal at the Moulin Rouge

(01:05 – 04:25)

• The episode opens in late 19th-century Paris amid the glitz and decadence of the Moulin Rouge.
• The double act: A handsome violinist (János “Janci” Rigó) plays onstage while Clara Ward, provocatively dressed, joins him in sensuous, mannequin-like poses (“poses plastiques”), enthralling the audience.
• “If they weren’t famous, and they are very famous, audience members would surely be leaning into each other to confirm if their dates were also picking up on the clear vibes in the room... But then, in the blink of an eye, the spell is broken. A man stands up and yells, ‘I forbid this performance in the name of the law.’” (B, 02:49)
• The interloper: Not a performer, but a police officer, enforcing the authority of Clara’s ex-husband, Prince Joseph de Caraman-Chimay.

2. Clara’s Beginnings: American Heiress with a Wild Streak

(04:26 – 10:20)

• Clara is the daughter of Eber Brock Ward, Detroit’s first millionaire. After her father’s death, family lawsuits ensue, ultimately leaving Clara and her mother with the majority of the fortune.
• Clara is raised in privilege, moving from America to Canada and then to Paris:
  • “She was devilishly smart and spoke at least five languages. But she was also a spoiled child without a code of ethics.” (B, 07:09)
• School is a disaster; she’s expelled multiple times. Clara craves emotion and excitement:
  • In her diary: “The humdrum life is not for me. I must feel, must have emotions. Ordinary marriage and smug respectability appall me. I feel that it would be a joy to marry a murderer.” (B, 08:31)

3. The “Dollar Princess” Marries Belgian Royalty

(10:21 – 15:44)

• Clara’s mother Catherine is eager for her daughter to marry into nobility:
  • “Clara needed legitimacy and elevation in her social standing. Her husband would need money to repair a crumbling old mansion. Sounds romantic. Doesn't it?” (B, 11:54)
• At 16, Clara weds Prince Joseph de Caraman-Chimay, 32, who needs her fortune to cover debts.
• Clara pays for renovations and debts, gives birth to two children, and is unenthusiastic about aristocratic protocols.
• Alienated by nobility, courted by King Leopold II, Clara becomes a social pariah.

4. Scandal, Escape, and Reinvention

(15:45 – 18:25)

• At 23, Clara meets Janci, a charismatic Hungarian-Romani violinist, at a Paris nightclub.
  • Within ten days, they elope: “A princess abandoning her children to elope with a Romani musician? This was the story of the century.” (B, 16:56)
• Divorce from Joseph is swift; he gains custody. Clara must pay $15,000,000 a year in alimony, which she accepts: “I am done with it all. I want to be free.” (B, 17:46)

5. The Sensational Life with Janci Rigó

(18:26 – 21:00)

• Clara and Janci travel flamboyantly on her inheritance—he receives lavish gifts, including a palace and a zoo.
• When her finances are restricted by her family, Clara turns her notoriety into income:
  • Photographs (often simulating nudity), advertisements, and eventually nightclub performances with Janci as the violinist and Clara performing “poses plastiques.”
• “Clara and Janci became masters of publicity, feeding the press exactly what it craved.” (B, 20:01)
• Their act draws huge audiences (and police intervention at Joseph’s insistence).

6. Decline, More Marriages, and Death

(21:01 – 26:08)

• After her theatrical career is legally suppressed, Clara and Janci’s marriage crumbles.
  • Infidelity and scandal follow; they divorce in 1904.
• Clara quickly marries Giuseppe Ricciardi, a 22-year-old railway worker. This union unravels after seven years amid accusations of infidelity.
• Clara’s fourth and last husband, Abano Castellato, may have been her third husband’s butler or chauffeur.
• In 1916, Clara dies at 43 from pneumonia in Italy—her death is notified to her American family by a letter from her husband.

7. Legacy: A Life Lived Out Loud

(26:09 – 29:26)

• Despite scandal and censure, Clara insisted on defining her own life.
• Contemporary mental health professionals tried to pathologize her independence and appetite for experience.
  • “The doctor who never treated Clara diagnosed her as being an aeropath with a limitless financial ability for self indulgence. He recommended medication and commitment to a sanitarium.” (B, 28:03)
• Dana Schwartz reframes her as a woman who rejected social norms and embraced her own desires, regardless of consequence.
  • “While Clara was not driven to create a business empire like her father, she created a kingdom based upon her own set of rules... Clara's goal was to live a life of excitement on her own terms.” (B, 28:45)

8. Clara’s Sweet Legacy: The Rigó Jancsi Cake

(27:09 – 29:25)

• In Budapest, the “Rigó Jancsi” chocolate cake, named for her second husband, endures as a reminder of the couple’s notoriety—though Dana suggests it should be called the Clara cake.
  • “It's passionate, indulgent, maybe a little too intense for everyday life, but undeniably fabulous. But come on, by all rights, this cake should really be named after Clara.” (B, 28:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clara’s Diary Manifesto:

  “The humdrum life is not for me. I must feel, must have emotions. Ordinary marriage and smug respectability appall me. I feel that it would be a joy to marry a murderer.” (B, 08:31)

• On Her Role as Social Pariah:

  “From the very first moment that I arrived in Brussels, King Leopold showered me with attentions. By his favoritism, the jealousy and hatred of the entire court was aroused against me. I defied them as I have all my life, defied everyone.” (Clara Ward, as quoted by B, 13:55)

• Her Defiant Declaration after the Divorce:

  “I am done with it all. I want to be free.” (B, 17:46)

• Summary of Her Spirit:

  “Clara left the husband she did not love and chose to live her life on her own terms... She did not care about contravening the social norms of the era in which she lived.” (B, 28:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:05 — Immersive theatrical opening at the Moulin Rouge
• 04:26 — Clara’s childhood, inheritance, and rebellious schooling
• 10:21 — Marriage arrangements and “dollar princesses”
• 15:45 — The sensational elopement with Janci Rigó
• 18:26 — The couple’s public persona, career, and fallout
• 21:01 — Divorce, third and fourth marriages, Clara’s decline
• 26:09 — Reflections on Clara's character and era
• 27:09 — Culinary legacy: the Rigó Jancsi cake and a call for it to be renamed for Clara

Overall Tone & Language

Dana Schwartz narrates with wry wit and empathy, balancing admiration for Clara’s audacity with a clear-eyed assessment of her flaws. The episode maintains Noble Blood’s trademark blend of entertaining social history, vivid scene-setting, and occasional sardonic commentary.

Conclusion

The Princess Onstage at the Moulin Rouge offers a vivid portrait of Clara Ward: a woman both enabled and constrained by her wealth, yet determined to shape a life that was anything but ordinary. Her story, as told by Dana Schwartz, challenges us to reconsider conventional judgments of scandal and independence, particularly for women navigating the gilded cages of their eras. Whether seen as tragic, triumphant, or simply unforgettable, Clara Ward lived by her own rules—to the very end.