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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 126-150 of 190 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Edison 2054 10-in. 12/16/1912 Barcarolle Reed Miller ; Elizabeth Spencer Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra composer  
Edison 2100 10-in. 1/20/1913 Barcarolle Frank Croxton ; Elizabeth Spencer Vocal duet (soprano and bass), with orchestra composer  
Edison 2243 10-in. 4/21/1913 Orpheus overture American Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 2564 10-in. 11/14/1913 Barcarolle Thomas Chalmers ; Elizabeth Spencer Vocal duet (soprano and Male), with orchestra composer  
Edison 2672 10-in. 12/31/1913 Barcarolle Orchestra (unidentified; Edison Records) Orchestra composer  
Edison 3105 10-in. June 1914 Barcarolle American Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 3192 10-in. Jun. 1914 Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour Lucette Korsoff ; Taurino Parvis Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra composer  
Edison 3295 10-in. between 9/12/1914 and 9/16/1914 Barcarolle American Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 3420 10-in. Nov. 1914 Barcarolle Orchestra (unidentified; Edison Records) Orchestra composer  
Edison 3709 10-in. 4/15/1915 Barcarolle Margarete Matzenauer ; Alice Verlet Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Edison 4411 10-in. 1/11/1916 Barcarolle American Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 5012 10-in. 9/20/1916 Les oiseaux dans la charmille Anna Case Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 5987 10-in. 1/30/1918 Barcarolle Creatore's Band Band composer  
Edison 6129 10-in. March 1918 Barcarolle Cherniavsky Trio Instrumental trio composer  
Edison 7044 10-in. 12/4/1919 Barcarolle Lou Chiha Frisco Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 9413 10-in. 3/10/1924 Elle a fui, la tourterelle! Claudia Muzio Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 18615 10-in. 7/13/1928 Entr' acte Edison Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 18678 10-in. 8/24/1928 Orpheus overture Edison Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 18679 10-in. 8/24/1928 Orpheus overture Edison Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison N-327 12-in. 7/13/1928 Entr' acte Edison Concert Orchestra [Giammatteo's Orchestra] Orchestra composer  
Edison N-386 12-in. 8/24/1928 Orpheus overture Edison Concert Orchestra [Giammatteo's Orchestra] Orchestra composer  
Edison N-387 12-in. 8/24/1928 Orpheus overture Edison Concert Orchestra [Giammatteo's Orchestra] Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 124L 7-in. 1902 Air from Singing birds M. S. Dalsky Tenor vocal solo composer  
Gramophone 0T196 10-in. 5/19/1931 I en skog på Berget Ida Folke Andersson Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Gramophone 331ae 10-in. March 1909 Sang af "Barn i kirke" Frederik Jensen Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 126-150 of 190 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Offenbach, Jacques," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102760.

Offenbach, Jacques. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102760.

"Offenbach, Jacques." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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