Offenbach, Jacques (actually, Jacob)
Offenbach, Jacques (actually, Jacob)
Offenbach, Jacques (actually, Jacob), famous French composer of German descent; b. Cologne, June 20, 1819; d. Paris, Oct. 5, 1880. He was the son of a Jewish cantor, whose original surname was Eberst; Offenbach was the town where his father lived. He studied violin before taking up the cello when he was 9. After training with Joseph Alexander and Bernhard Breuer in Cologne, he settled in Paris (1833). Following cello studies with Vaslin at the Cons. (1833–34), he played in the orch. of the Opéra-Comique; also received further instruction from Louis Norblin and Halévy. He then pursued a career as a soloist and chamber music artist (from 1838); subsequently was a conductor at the Théâtre-Français (1850–55). His Chanson de Fortunio for Musset’s Chandelier (1850) proved tremendously popular. In 1855 he ventured to open his own theater, the Bouffes-Parisiens, at the Salle Marigny; late that year it moved to the Salle Choiseul, where he scored his first great success with the operetta Orphée aux enfers (Oct. 21, 1858). His La Belle Héléne (Variétés, Dec. 17, 1864) proved to be one of his most celebrated works, soon taken up by theatrical enterprises all over the world. Having abandoned the management of the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1866, he nevertheless continued to write for the stage. His La Vie parisienne (Palais Royal, Oct. 31, 1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Variétés, April 12, 1867), and La Périchole (Variétés, Oct. 6, 1868) were notably successful. In 1873 he took over the management of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, where he brought out his rev. version of Orphée aux enfers as an opéra-féerique (Feb. 7, 1874). In 1876 he undertook a tour of the U.S., describing his impressions in Notes d’un musicien en voyage (Paris, 1877) and Offenbach en Amérique (Paris, 1877; Eng. tr., 1877, as Offenbach in America; republ. as Orpheus in America, Bloomington, Ind., 1957). His only grand opera, the masterpiece Les Contes d’Hoffmann, remained unfinished at his death; recitatives were added by E. Guiraud with the famous barcarolle from Offenbach’s Die Rheinnixen (1864), in which the tune was used for a ghost song; the completed score was premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris (Feb. 10, 1881) with instantaneous success, and subsequently was performed on both sides of the Atlantic. Offenbach was a master of the operetta; his music is characterized by an abundance of flowing, rollicking melodies, seasoned with ironic humor, suitable to the extravagant burlesque of the situations. His irreverent treatment of mythological characters gave Paris society a salutary shock; his art mirrored the atmosphere of precarious gaiety during the second Empire.
Works
dramatic (all first perf. in Paris unless otherwise given): L’Alcôve (April 24, 1847); Le Trésor à Mathurin (May 1853; rev. as Le Manage aux lanternes, Oct. 10, 1857); Pépito (Oct. 28, 1853); Luc et Lucette (May 2, 1854); Oyayaie, ou La Reine des îles (June 26, 1855); Entrez, messieurs, mesdames (July 5, 1855); Les Deux Aveugles (July 5, 1855); Une Nuit blanche (July 5, 1855); Le Rêve d’une nuit d’été (July 30, 1855); Le Violoneux (Aug. 31, 1855); Madame Papillon (Oct. 3, 1855); Paimpol et Permette (Oct. 29, 1855); Ba-ta-clan (Dec. 29, 1855); Élodie, ou Le Forfait nocturne (Jan. 19, 1856); Le Postillon en gage (Feb. 9, 1856); Trombalcazar, ou Les Criminels dramatiques (April 3, 1856); La Rose de Saint-Flour (June 12, 1856); Les Dragées du baptême (June 18, 1856); Le “66” (July 31, 1856); Le Savetier et le financier (Sept. 23, 1856); La Bonne d’enfants (Oct. 14, 1856); Les Trois Baisers du diable (Jan. 15, 1857); Croquefer, ou Le Dernier des paladins (Feb. 12, 1857); Dragonette (April 30, 1857); Vent du soir, ou L’Horrible Festin (May 16, 1857); Une Demoiselle en lôterie (July 27, 1857); Les Deux Pêcheurs (Nov. 13, 1857); Mesdames de la Halle (March 3, 1858); La Chatte métamorphosée en femme (April 19, 1858); Orphée aux enfers (Oct. 21, 1858; rev. version, Feb. 7, 1874); Un Mari à la porte (June 22, 1859); Les Vivandières de la grande armée (July 6, 1859); Geneviève de Brabant (Nov. 19, 1859; rev. version, Dec. 26, 1867; 2nd rev. version, Feb. 25, 1875); Le Carnaval des revues (Feb. 10, 1860); Daphnis et Chloé (March 27, 1860); Barkouf (Dec. 24, 1860); La Chanson de Fortunio (Jan. 5, 1861); Le Pont des soupirs (March 23, 1861; rev. version, May 8, 1868); M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le... (May 31, 1861); Apothicaire et perruquier (Oct. 17, 1861); Le Roman comique (Dec. 10, 1861); Monsieur et Madame Denis (Jan. 11, 1862); Le Voyage de MM. Dunanan père et fils (March 23, 1862); Les Bavards or Bavard et bavarde (Bad Ems, June 11, 1862); Jacqueline (Oct. 14, 1862); II Signor Fagotto (Bad Ems, July 11, 1863); Lischen et Fritzchen (Bad Ems, July 21, 1863); L’Amour chanteur (Jan. 5, 1864); Die Rheinnixen (Vienna, Feb. 4, 1864); Les Géorgiennes (March 16, 1864); Jeanne qui pleure et Jean qui rit (Bad Ems, July 1864); Le Fifre enchanté, ou Le Soldat magicien (Bad Ems, July 9, 1864); La Belle Hélène (Dec. 17, 1864); Coscoletto, ou Le Lazzarone (Bad Ems, July 24, 1865); Les Refrains des bouffes (Sept. 21, 1865); Les Bergers (Dec. 11, 1865); Barbe-bleue (Feb. 5, 1866); La Vie parisienne (Oct. 31, 1866); La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (April 12, 1867); La Permission de dix heures (Bad Ems, July 9, 1867); La Leçon de chant (Bad Ems, Aug. 1867); Robinson Crusoé (Nov. 23, 1867); Le Chateau à Toto (May 6, 1868); L’île de Tulipatan (Sept. 30, 1868); La Périchole (Oct. 6, 1868; rev. version, April 25, 1874); Vert- vert (March 10, 1869); La Diva (March 22, 1869); La Princesse de Trébizonde (Baden-Baden, July 31, 1869; rev. version, Paris, Dec. 7, 1869); Les Brigands (Dec. 10, 1869); La Romance de la rose (Dec. 11, 1869); Mam’zelle Moucheron (c. 1870; rev. version by Delibes, May 10, 1881); Boule de neige (Dec. 14, 1871; rev. version of Barkouf); Le Roi Carotte (Jan. 15, 1872); Fantasio (Jan. 18, 1872); Fleurette, oder Näherin und Trompeter (Vienna, March 8, 1872); Der schwarze Korsar (Vienna, Sept. 21, 1872); Les Braconniers (Jan. 29, 1873); Pomme d’api (Sept. 4, 1873); La Jolie Parfumeuse (Nov. 29, 1873); Bagatelle (May 21, 1874); Madame l’archiduc (Oct. 31, 1874); Whittington (London, Dec. 26, 1874); Les Hannetons (April 22, 1875); La Boulangère à des écus (Oct. 19, 1875); Le Créole (Nov. 3, 1875); Le Voyage dans la lune (Nov. 26, 1875); Tarte à la crème (Dec. 14, 1875); Pierrette et Jacquot (Oct. 13, 1876); La Boîte au lait (Nov. 3, 1876); Le Docteur Ox (Jan. 26, 1877); La Foire Saint-Laurent (Feb. 10, 1877); Maître Péronilla (March 13, 1878); Madame Favart (Dec. 28, 1878); La Marocaine (Jan. 13, 1879); La Fille du tambour-major (Dec. 13, 1879); Belle Lurette (Oct. 30, 1880; completed by Delibes); Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Feb. 10, 1881; completed by Guiraud). vaudevilles and incidental music:Pascal et Chambord (March 2, 1839); Le Brésilien (May 9, 1863); Le Gascon (Sept. 2, 1873); La Haine (Dec. 3, 1874). ballet:Arlequin barbier Quly 5, 1855); Pierrot clown (July 30, 1855); Polichinelle dans le monde (Sept. 19, 1855); Les Bergers de Watteau (June 24, 1856); Le Papillon (Nov. 26, 1860); much other dance music. other:Various works for Cello, including Prière et Boléro for Cello and Orch. (1840); Musette, Air de ballet du 17me siècle for Cello and Orch. (1843); Hommage à Rossini for Cello and Orch. (1843); Concerto militaire (1848); Concerto Rondo (c. 1850; discovered by A. de Almeida in 1983); Concertino (1851); many pieces for Cello and Piano; several works for Solo Cello; pedagogical pieces; songs; etc.
Bibliography
E. de Mirecourt, Les Contemporains: Auber, O. (Paris, 1869); Argus, Célébrités dramatiques: J. O. (Paris, 1872); A. Martinet, O.: Sa vie et son oeuvre (Paris, 1887); P. Bekker, J. O. (Berlin, 1909); R. Northcott,J. O.: A Sketch of His Life and a Record of His Operas (London, 1917); E. Rieger, O. und seine Wiener Schule (Vienna, 1920); L. Schneider,O. (Paris, 1923); R. Brancour, O. (Paris, 1929); A. Henseler, Jakob O.(Berlin, 1930); H. Kris-teller, Der Aufstieg des Kölners J. O.: Ein Musikerleben in Bildern (Berlin, 1931); S. Kracauer, J. O. und das Paris seiner Zeit (Amsterdam, 1937; 2nd ed., 1962; Eng. tr., 1937); S. Sitwell, La Vie Parisienne: A Tribute to O. (London, 1937); J. Brindejont-Offenbach, O., mon grand-père (Paris, 1940); A. Decaux, O., roi du Second Empire (Paris, 1958; 3rd ed., 1975); A. Silbermann, Das imaginäre Tagebuch des Herrn J. O.(Berlin, 1960); O. Schneidereit,J. O. (Leipzig, 1966); P. Jacob,J. O. in selbtstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten (Hamburg, 1969); R. Pourvoyeur,J. O.: Essay in Toengepaste Muziek-en Toneelsociologie (Brussels, 1977); A. Faris,J. O. (London, 1980); P. Gammond, O.: His Life and Times (Tunbridge Wells, 1980; 2nd ed., rev, 1986); J. Harding et al, O 1819–1880: A Tribute (London, 1980); R. Pourvoyeur, O.: Idillio e Parodia (Turin, 1980); T. Groepper, Aspekte der O.iade: Untersuchungen zu den Libretti der grossen Operetten O.s (Frankfurt am Main and N.Y., 1990); C. Dufresne, J. O., ou, La gaîté parisienne (Paris, 1992); R. Pourvoyeur, O. (Paris, 1994); A. Jacobshagen, ed.,J. O., Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Dossier de presse parisienne (1881) (Bietigheim, 1995); C. Dufresne, O., our, La joie de vivre (Paris, 1998); J. Kaufman, Isaac Offenbach und sein Sohn J. oder “Es ist nicht alle Tage Purim” (Tübingen, 1998); P Hawig, J. O.: Facetten zu Leben und Werk (Cologne, 1999).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire