Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach ( 20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880 ) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss Jr. and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory.
Born in Cologne, the son of a synagogue cantor, Offenbach showed early musical talent. At the age of 14, he was accepted as a student at the Paris Conservatoire but found academic study unfulfilling and left after a year. From 1835 to 1855 he earned his living as a cellist, achieving international fame, and as a conductor. His ambition, however, was to compose comic pieces for the musical theatre. Finding the management of Paris' Opéra-Comique company uninterested in staging his works, in 1855 he leased a small theatre in the Champs-Élysées. There he presented a series of his own small-scale pieces, many of which became popular.
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La Belle Hélène (1997)
A superficial view may regard Offenbach’s lightweight masterpiece, La belle Hélène, as „merely“ an opera buffa. But closer scrutiny of this charming, imaginative firework of intrigue makes one thing clear: the story of the Greek queen who started off the Trojan war is, in this version, a humorous...
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Les Contes D'Hoffmann (2016)
Les Contes D'Hoffmann by J. Offenbach, from The Royal Opera House, 2016. Directed by John Schlesinger, conductorEvelino Pidò, starring Sonya Yoncheva, Kate Lindsey, Thomas Hampson, Vittorio Grigolo, Christine Rice, Eric Halfvarson, Sofia Fomina, Vincent Ordonneau and Christophe Mortagne. Performe...
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Un mari à la porte (2019)
Un mari à la porte by J. Offenbach from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, performed at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019. Directed by Luigi Di Gangi; Ugo Giacomazzi, conductor Valerio Galli. Starring Patrizio La Placa (Henri Martel), Marina Ogii (Suzanne), Matteo Mezzaro (Florestan Ducroquet)...
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Les contes d'Hoffmann (2004)
Les contes d'Hoffmann by J. Offenbach from Macerata Opera Festival, performed at Sferisterio di Macerata, 2004. Directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conductor Frédéric Chaslin. Starring Ruggero Raimondi (Lindorf, Cappélius, Dapertutto, Miracle), Vincenzo La Scola (Hoffmann), Désirée Rancatore (Olympi...
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Great Arias - Felicity Lott - La Belle Hélène - “Amours divins” (2000)
Great Arias Felicity Lott - La Belle Hélène: "Amours divins" and "L'invocation á Venus", by J. Offenbach, from Théâtre du Châtelet, 2000. Conductor Marc Minkowski, starring Felicity Lott
