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Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819, in Cologne – 5 October 1880, in Paris) was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the originators of the operetta form. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Of German-Jewish descent, he was one of the most influential composers of popular music in Europe in the 19th century, and many of his works remain in the repertory. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Offenbach's numerous operettas, such as Orpheus in the Underworld, and La belle Hélène, were extremely popular in both France and the English-speaking world in the 1850s and 1860s. Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld, Opéra bouffe (or Opéra féerie in its revised version is an Operetta by Jacques La belle Hélène (" The Beautiful Helen " or " The Fair Helen " Opéra bouffe in three acts is an Operetta by They combined political and cultural satire with witty grand opera parodies. Grand Opera is a genre of 19th-century Opera generally in four or five acts characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras and (in their original productions lavish and His popularity in France waned in the 1870s after the fall of the Second Empire, and he fled France, but during the last years of his life, his popularity rebounded, and several of his operettas are still performed. This article is about the Second Empire architectural style For France during the reign of Napoleon III of France, see Second French Empire This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. While his name remains most closely associated with the French operetta and the Second Empire, it is Offenbach's one fully operatic masterpiece, Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), composed at the end of his career, that has become the most familiar of Offenbach's works in major opera houses. Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto An opera house is a theater building used for Opera performances that consists of a stage an orchestra pit audience seating and backstage facilities for costumes

Contents

Biography

The young Offenbach playing the cello. Circa 1840
The young Offenbach playing the cello. Circa 1840

Offenbach's father, born Isaac Eberst in Offenbach am Main around 1780, changed his name to Offenbach when he settled down in Deutz in 1802. Offenbach am Main is a city in Hesse, Germany located on southside of the river Main. He was a man of many talents who worked as a bookbinder, translator, publisher, music teacher and composer and became a cantor some 30 years later. "Hazan" and "Chazan" redirect here For people named Hazan or Chazan see Hazan (disambiguation Growing importance of the office In 1816 the family moved to Cologne, where his son Jacob (later changed to Jacques) was born in 1819.

Early career

In 1833 his father took Jacob to Paris and managed to get him admitted as a cello student to the Paris Conservatoire. The Conservatoire de Paris is an institution of higher education that has played an important role in the development of Music in France and Western Europe Financial difficulties forced Jacques, as he was known by then, to break off his studies at the end of 1834. After a few odd jobs he eventually found a position as a cellist in the orchestra of the Opéra Comique. The théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique ( National Opéra Comic Theatre) is an opera company and Opera house in Paris. He soon made a name for himself as a cello virtuoso, appearing with famous pianists like the young Anton Rubinstein, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and, very often, with Flotow with whom he performed jointly composed pieces. This article is about the 19th century Russian pianist and composer Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer Friedrich von Flotow (27 April 1812 &ndash 24 January 1883 was a German Composer. In 1844, he converted to Catholicism and married Herminie d'Alcain. He moved to Germany with his wife and daughter in 1848 (the couple eventually had four daughters) to escape revolutionary violence in France, but returned after a brief stay.

In 1850, he became conductor of the Théâtre Français, but the musical theatre establishment in Paris did not immediately accept his sometimes pointed songs and music. The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few State Theaters in France. Therefore, in 1855, he rented for the Expo season a little theatre on the Champs-Élysées and named it the Bouffes Parisiens. The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champ de Mars in Paris from May 15 to November 15, The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (ʃɑ̃zeliˈze) is the most prestigious avenue in Paris. The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens is a venue in Paris, France, famous for its productions of Operetta and Opéra comique, especially those In the following winter he moved the Bouffes to a larger and, above all, heatable theatre on rue Monsigny/Passage Choiseul. There he began a successful career devoted largely to composing operettas. Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter In the early years, Offenbach's permit limited his productions to one-act works with only a few speaking or singing characters. Les deux aveugles, Ba-ta-clan (both premiering in 1855), and La bonne d'enfant were three of his popular works from this period. Les deux aveugles ( The Two Blind Men) is a one-act bouffonerie musicale in the style of an Operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French Ba-ta-clan is a "chinoiserie musicale" or Operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach to an original French Libretto by La bonne d'enfant ( The Nanny) is an Opéra bouffe, or operetta in one act by Jacques Offenbach to a French Libretto by Only in 1858, after these restrictions had been lifted, it became possible for him to produce his first full-length work, Orpheus in the Underworld. Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld, Opéra bouffe (or Opéra féerie in its revised version is an Operetta by Jacques

Offenbach wrote almost 100 operettas, some of which were wildly popular in his time, and his most popular works are still performed regularly today. The best of these works combined hilarious political and cultural satire with witty grand opera parodies. Grand Opera is a genre of 19th-century Opera generally in four or five acts characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras and (in their original productions lavish and His best-known operettas in the English-speaking world are Orpheus in the Underworld (1858), La belle Hélène (1864), La vie parisienne (1866), The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (1867), and La Périchole (1868). La belle Hélène (" The Beautiful Helen " or " The Fair Helen " Opéra bouffe in three acts is an Operetta by La vie parisienne ( Parisian life) is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein ( The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein) is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach La Périchole is an Opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Les Brigands (1869) was very popular in the English-speaking world initially but was later forgotten. Les brigands ( The Bandits) is an Opéra bouffe, or operetta by Jacques Offenbach to a French Libretto by Henri Meilhac

Offenbach worked with the librettists Meilhac and Halévy more often than any other librettist or team and produced some of his most successful works with them. Henri Meilhac ( February 21, 1831 &ndash July 6, 1897) French Dramatist and Opera Librettist, was Ludovic Halévy ( 1 January 1834 - 8 May 1908) was a French Author and Playwright. He said of his relationship with the team: Je suis sans doute le Père, chacun des deux autres est à la fois mon Fils et Plein d'Esprit (literally "No doubt I am the Father; each of the two others is at once my Son and Full of Verve"— esprit meaning both [Holy] Spirit and wit and Plein d'Esprit rhyming with Saint Esprit). In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance

Later years

Offenbach's grave at Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris
Offenbach's grave at Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris

Offenbach was much attached to his adopted country, and many of his works are very patriotic in nature. But when war broke out between France and Germany in 1870, ending the Second Empire, he was attacked in the French press as an immigrant agent of Bismarck and was forced to flee. The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 This article is about the Second Empire architectural style For France during the reign of Napoleon III of France, see Second French Empire Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen Duke of Lauenburg Prince of Bismarck ( April 1, 1815 July 30, 1898) Reviled in the German press as a traitor to his native Germany, and he brought his family to safety in Spain and then toured in Italy and Austria. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. When he returned to Paris in June 1871 after the war, his operettas were out of favor with the public. The political right wing felt that by "turning royalty into a farce and the army into a joke" Offenbach's parodies had undermined Napoleon III's France and were therefore the cause, or at least one of the causes, of the defeat. Ironically, the left blamed Offenbach for his perceived loyalty to the deposed emperor, and he had trouble with the police. 1875 marked a low point, and Offenbach was forced into bankruptcy. In 1876, though, a very successful tour of the United States at the occasion of the U. S. Centennial Exhibition allowed him to recover part of his losses. While there, he conducted two of his operettas, La vie parisienne and La jolie parfumeuse, and also gave as many as 40 concerts in New York and Philadelphia.

Offenbach enjoyed renewed popularity with Madame Favart (1878), which built a fantasy plot around the real-life French actress Marie Justine Favart, and La fille du tambour-major, a musically inventive piece. Madame Favart is an Opéra comique, or Operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Marie-Justine-Benoîte Favart ( June 15 1727 - April 22 1772) nee Marie Duronceray, was an Opera singer actress La fille du tambour-major ( The Drum-Major's Daughter) is an Opéra comique, or Operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Most experts are of the opinion that his last work, The Tales of Hoffmann, was his only grand opera. It is more serious and more ambitious in its musical scope than his other works, perhaps reflecting the eternal wish of the humourist to be taken seriously. The opera was still unfinished at his death in 1880, but was completed by his friend Ernest Guiraud and premiered in 1881. Ernest Guiraud ( June 26, 1837 &ndash May 6, 1892) was a French Composer and music teacher born in New Orleans Louisiana

In 1938, Manuel Rosenthal (1904-2003) assembled the popular ballet Gaîté Parisienne from his own orchestral arrangements of melodies from Offenbach's operettas and the "barcarolle" from The Tales of Hoffman. Manuel Rosenthal (born June 18, 1904, Paris, France; died June 5, 2003, Paris was a French Composer Gaîté Parisienne is a 1938 ballet based on music by Jacques Offenbach, arranged by Manuel Rosenthal.

Offenbach is buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France. Montmartre Cemetery ( Fr: Cimetière de Montmartre is a famous cemetery located at 37 Avenue Samson in the 18th ''arrondissement'' of Paris Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

List of stage works

A list of Offenbach's 100 known stage works follows[1]. (It should be noted that multiple versions of his works, sometimes under different titles, and inconsistencies in sources concerning works composed, partly composed, and staged by Offenbach, have led to differences in counting the exact number of his works. )

1847-1855

1856-1860

Playbill for Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers. 1858
Playbill for Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers. Hector-Jonathan Crémieux ( 10 November, 1828 - 30 September, 1892) was a French Librettist and Playwright. La bonne d'enfant ( The Nanny) is an Opéra bouffe, or operetta in one act by Jacques Offenbach to a French Libretto by 1858

1861-1865

Lithograph of the ballerina Emma Livry as Farfalla in Offenbach's ballet Le Papillon. 1861
Lithograph of the ballerina Emma Livry as Farfalla in Offenbach's ballet Le Papillon. Emma Livry ( 24 September 1842 &ndash 26 July 1863) was one of the last Ballerinas of the Romantic ballet era and 1861

1866-1870

Poster advertising Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne. 1866
Poster advertising Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne. La belle Hélène (" The Beautiful Helen " or " The Fair Helen " Opéra bouffe in three acts is an Operetta by 1866

1871-1875

Poster advertising Offenbach's La Périchole. 1868
Poster advertising Offenbach's La Périchole. La vie parisienne ( Parisian life) is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein ( The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein) is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach Robinson Crusoé is an Opéra comique, or Operetta, by Jacques Offenbach. L'île de Tulipatan ( The Island of Tulipatan) is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach to an original French La Périchole is an Opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Les brigands ( The Bandits) is an Opéra bouffe, or operetta by Jacques Offenbach to a French Libretto by Henri Meilhac 1868

1876-1881

Derivative works

Critical reception of Offenbach's work

Elegy to Offenbach in the illustrated magazine Punch.
Elegy to Offenbach in the illustrated magazine Punch. Punch was a British weekly Magazine of Humour and Satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002

Friedrich Nietzsche said about Offenbach: "If by artistic genius we understand the most consummate freedom within the law, divine ease and facility in overcoming the greatest difficulties, then Offenbach has even more right to the title 'genius' than Wagner has. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist Wagner is heavy and clumsy, nothing is more foreign to him than the moments of wanton perfection which this clown Offenbach achieves as many as five times, six times, in nearly every one of his buffooneries. "[2]

Émile Zola commented on Offenbach and his work in a novel (Nana)[3] and an essay (La féerie et l'opérette IV/V)[4]. Émile François Zola ( (2 April 1840 &ndash 29 September 1902 was an influential French Writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of Nana is a novel by the French naturalist author Émile Zola. Completed in 1880, Nana is the ninth installment in While granting that Offenbach's main operettas are full of grace, charm and wit, Zola blames Offenbach for what others have made out of the genre, and what they are yet to make out of it. The operetta as a genre is in Zola's eyes a "public enemy", a "monstrous beast" that should have been "strangled" at birth; an echo of the Leipziger Allgemeine Zeitung, which had written in 1870 that Offenbach's operetta was precisely what Germany was fighting against. Zola makes two further points. One is that, as chapter I of Nana suggests, everything in and around the operetta performed in it (a take-off of La belle Hélène) is authentic. La belle Hélène (" The Beautiful Helen " or " The Fair Helen " Opéra bouffe in three acts is an Operetta by The theatre (bordel, as the director calls it), the actors, the audience and the operetta itself are authentically Second Empire. The Viennese operetta and its Berlin cousin, on the other hand, would become famous for their total inauthenticity. A second point concerns the nature of Offenbach's satire. Following Siegfried Kracauer's lead, most experts see Offenbach's works as sort of a social protest, an attack against the establishment. [5] Zola asserts in his analysis that nothing could be farther from the truth. In his view, even at its most scathing, the criticism offered in Offenbach's works was an homage to a "system" that not only tolerated satire at its own expense, but couldn't get enough of it.

It is generally agreed that at some point in his career someone christened Offenbach "the Mozart of the Champs-Élysées," but this is where the agreement ends. While some of the sources attribute the saying to Richard Wagner, others think that Rossini said it. It is also a matter of dispute whether it was meant as praise, as a left-handed compliment, as an ironic putdown, or as an outright slur. Jean-Bernard Piat's advice is not to use the expression at all. [6]

References

  1. ^ Offenbach, Jacques by Andrew Lamb, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an Encyclopedia of Opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
  2. ^ Ardoin, John: The Tales of Offenbach (online)
  3. ^ Zola, Émile: Nana, translated with an introduction by George Holden, Penguin Classics, London 1972
  4. ^ Zola, Émile: La féerie et l'opérette IV/V in Le naturalisme au théâtre, 1881, (online)
  5. ^ Kracauer, Siegfried. Jacques Offenbach and the Paris of his Time, tr. Gwenda David and Eric Mosbacher. New York: Zone Books, 2002 (o. G: 1937)
  6. ^ Piat, Jean-Bernard. Guide du mélomane averti, Le Livre de Poche 8026. Paris 1992

Sources

External links

Free sheet music

The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL is a Sheet music archive which focuses on choral and vocal Music in the Public domain. The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
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