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Jacques Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach (, also US: , French: [ʒak ɔfɛnbak], German: [ˈʔɔfn̩bax] (listen); 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.

In 1858, Offenbach produced his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers ("Orpheus in the Underworld"), which was exceptionally well received and has remained one of his most played works. During the 1860s, he produced at least 18 full-length operettas, as well as more one-act pieces. His works from this period included La belle Hélène (1864), La Vie parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868). The risqué humour (often about sexual intrigue) and mostly gentle satiric barbs in these pieces, together with Offenbach's facility for melody, made them internationally known, and translated versions were successful in Vienna, London and elsewhere in Europe.

Offenbach became associated with the Second French Empire of Napoleon III; the emperor and his court were genially satirised in many of Offenbach's operettas. Napoleon III personally granted him French citizenship and the Légion d'Honneur. With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Offenbach found himself out of favour in Paris because of his imperial connections and his German birth. He remained successful in Vienna and London, however. He re-established himself in Paris during the 1870s, with revivals of some of his earlier favourites and a series of new works, and undertook a popular US tour. In his last years he strove to finish The Tales of Hoffmann, but died before the premiere of the opera, which has entered the standard repertory in versions completed or edited by other musicians.

Birth and Death Data: Born June 20, 1819 (Cologne), Died October 5, 1880 (Paris)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1900 - 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 190 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-11183 10-in. 11/3/1911 Orpheus i underjorden [Orpheus in the underworld] Elis Olson-Ellis Harmonica solo composer  
Victor C-11239 12-in. 11/15/1911 Orpheus in Hades : Overture Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-11576 10-in. 2/9/1912 Barcarolle Neapolitan Trio Instrumental trio composer  
Victor C-12559 12-in. 11/4/1912 Elle a fui Frances Alda ; Victor Orchestra Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-12639 10-in. 11/21/1912 Melody from 'La belle Helene' Kitty Berger Harp-zither solo composer  
Victor B-12820 10-in. 1/21/1913 Tales of Hoffman : Barcarolle Marguerite Dunlap ; Lucy Isabelle Marsh Female vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-12922 10-in. 2/17/1913 Barcarolle Geraldine Farrar ; Ernestine Schumann-Heink Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Victor B-13084 10-in. 4/7/1913 Barcarolle Frances Alda Soprano vocal solo, with cello obbligato and piano composer  
Victor C-14318 12-in. 1/13/1914 Venetian scene, with barcarolle Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor C-14788 12-in. 5/4/1914 Barcarolle Victor Military Band Band composer  
Victor B-14846 10-in. 5/20/1914 Barcarolle Alma Gluck ; Louise Homer Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Victor B-14993 10-in. 6/24/1914 Tales of Hoffmann : Barcarolle Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano and harp composer  
Victor B-15052 10-in. 7/10/1914 Barcarolle Maud Powell Violin solo, with orchestra and harp composer  
Victor C-15825 12-in. 3/23/1915 Elle a fui (The dove has flown) Lucrezia Bori Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-17655 10-in. 5/10/1916 Barcarolle Fritz Kreisler ; John McCormack ; Edwin Schneider Tenor vocal solo, with piano and violin composer  
Victor C-17804 12-in. 6/6/1916 Doll song Mabel Garrison Soprano vocal solo, with harp and orchestra composer  
Victor B-18574 10-in. 10/23/1916 La chanson de Fortunio : Serenade Emilio de Gogorza Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-20602 10-in. 8/8/1917 Barcarolle Boston Quintet Male quintet (vocal quartet and piano) composer  
Victor C-21206 12-in. 11/26/1917 Woodwinds Victor Orchestra Instructional composer  
Victor B-24933 10-in. 2/10/1921 Air de Dapertutto Renato Zanelli Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-25238 10-in. 4/25/1921 Barcarolle Alberto Salvi Harp solo composer  
Victor B-28439 10-in. 8/21/1923 Tales of Hoffman : Barcarolle Shannon Quartet Male vocal quartet, with harp and orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-28495 12-in. 12/12/1927 Orpheus in Hades : Overture Victor Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-28495 12-in. 9/24/1923 Orpheus in Hades : Overture Victor Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-28496 12-in. 9/24/1923 Orpheus in Hades : Overture Victor Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
(Results 26-50 of 190 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Offenbach, Jacques," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102760.

Offenbach, Jacques. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102760.

"Offenbach, Jacques." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102760

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