Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach is best known for his opera Les contes d'Hoffman (Tales of Hoffmann) and for a work he did not compose, Gaîté parisienne, which used his themes as assembled and arranged by Manuel Rosenthal. Offenbach was one of those populist figures whose tuneful and exhilarating music could, at its best, elevate his art to classic status. His chief importance was in the development of the operetta as a bona fide genre on the world's stages. In this endeavor he would exert influence to varying degrees over Johann Strauss II, Lehár, Sullivan, and many others.
Offenbach was born Jacob Offenbach in Cologne on June 20, 1819. His first lessons were on violin. At age nine his focus turned to the cello, possibly to become the third member of a family trio: his brother Julius was already proficient on the violin, and his sister Isabella was a good pianist. Together, the three played local engagements for small sums of money. Offenbach's teachers included Joseph Alexander and Bernhard Breuer.
In 1833, Offenbach's father took him to Paris, where he was enrolled at the Conservatory. It was during his early years there that he adopted the French version of his name, "Jacques." After leaving the Conservatory about a year later, Offenbach took further lessons on the cello from Louis Norblin, but, more importantly, studied composition with Halévy. He supported himself during this period by playing in the Opéra-Comique orchestra. By 1838, when he left his orchestral post, he had become one of the finest cellists in Europe and began performing with Flotow, who played the piano. Although he had been composing small pieces since his childhood, Offenbach began writing larger works now, like the score for the comedy, Pascal et Chambord, premiered in 1839.
Over the next several years, Offenbach met and performed with Anton Rubinstein and Franz Liszt, and he traveled to London in 1844 to give concerts with Mendelssohn and Joachim. That same year he married Herminie d'Alcain, following his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism. Clearly, Offenbach could have chosen to remain primarily a performing artist, but in 1847 he began composing operettas, his first being L'alcove. He was appointed conductor at the Théâtre Français in 1850, and by 1855, when he resigned that conducting post for another, began attaining regular performances of his works at important theaters like the Bouffes-Parisiens, at Salle Marigny.
Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the underworld) was a great success in 1858 and paved the way for his subsequent larger operettas. He had a string of hits in the mid-1860s: La belle Hélène (1864), Barbe-bleue (1866), La vie parisienne (1866), and La Périchole (1868). While his later works also achieved success, they did not generate the level of excitement attained by these.
In 1874, Offenbach, now director of the Théâtre de la Gaité, mounted new versions of some of his earlier successful operettas, like La Périchole, but failed to turn profits. Eventually he went into bankruptcy. A concert tour to the United States in 1876 and new productions of his works in London a few years later helped give him financial solvency. Offenbach continued composing up to his last days. He was working on his opera, the aforementioned Les contes d'Hoffman, when he died on October 5, 1880. The work, existing in piano score only, was orchestrated by Guiraud, who also made a few additions.
© TiVo
-
Tales from Hofmann Barcarole
Classica - Pubblicato da Digital Music Group, Inc. il 31 gen 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach, Orpheus In The Underworld
Classica - Pubblicato da Classical.com Music il 16 feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jacques Offenbach, La Fille Du Tambour-Major
Classica - Pubblicato da Classical.com Music il 16 feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les contes d'Hoffmann - La Magie de l'Opérette en 38 volumes - Vol. 29/38
Classica - Pubblicato da Isis il 1 nov 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bulldozer
Musica francese - Pubblicato da ProgQuébec il 1 gen 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rediscovering French Operas in 21 Volumes - Vol. 19/21 : Madame Favart
Opera - Pubblicato da ISIS il 5 gen 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All You Need Classics: Dream Voices
Classica - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 11 feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Rediscovering French Operas in 21 Volumes - Vol. 18/21 : Geneviève de Brabant
Opera - Pubblicato da ISIS il 10 gen 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach: Orpheus in the Underworld: "Overture" (Digitally Remastered)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Vaclav Smetacek
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 28 ott 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nocturne
Jacques Offenbach, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classica - Pubblicato da Vintage Jukebox il 7 lug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Belle Hélène - La Magie de l'Opérette en 38 volumes - Vol. 27/38
Classica - Pubblicato da Ulysse il 1 giu 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Moments: Vol.1
Giacomo Puccini, Jacques Offenbach, Erik Satie
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 11 mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rediscovering French Operas in 21 Volumes - Vol. 20/21 : Barbe Bleue
Opera - Pubblicato da ISIS il 10 gen 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein - La Magie de l'Opérette en 38 volumes - Vol. 30/38
Suzanne Lafaye, Jean Giraudeau
Classica - Pubblicato da ISIS il 2 mag 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dream Voices: All You Need Classics
Classica - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 11 feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus in the Underworld Overture
Classica - Pubblicato da Digital Music Group, Inc. il 31 gen 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nature
Jacques Offenbach, Martin Deschamps
Pop - Pubblicato da Tandem.mu il 29 mar 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Can-Can (Alex Sauvage Remix)
Jacques Offenbach, Alex Sauvage
House - Pubblicato da 9Ninerecords il 30 apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)
Funk - Pubblicato da Paula Records il 2 ott 1968
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -