# Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880)



## JoeGreen

How can we forget Offenbach?

The German born adoptive son of France, was a virtouso on the Cello, but a prolific operetta composer, he had a nack for melody and rythm.


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## PostMinimalist

Shouldn't this be in the worst composers thread?


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## Yagan Kiely

Beat me to it.



> How can we forget Offenbach?


Indeed, his abhorrent and simplistic piece (singular) is thrust in our ears all the time. Every junior band or concert band plays it at least once a year.


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## Taneyev

Yagan Kiely said:


> Beat me to it.
> 
> Indeed, his abhorrent and simplistic piece (singular) is thrust in our ears all the time. Every junior band or concert band plays it at least once a year.


You should try his cello works.


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## JoeGreen

Yagan Kiely said:


> Beat me to it.
> 
> Indeed, his abhorrent and simplistic piece (singular) is thrust in our ears all the time. Every junior band or concert band plays it at least once a year.


Oh, come on, there is more to him than just the _Can-Can_, listen to the love duet between Helen and Paris in the second act of _La Belle Helen_ or what about _Le Contes d'Hoffman_? or as Tanevey pointed out his cello works?


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## Yagan Kiely

I merely said that one is not permitted to forget him, no matter how one tries. I never said he only wrote the can-can or variants.


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## JoeGreen

okay, I understand what you mean.


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## science

Has anyone heard the suites for 2 cellos?


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## elgar's ghost

Pity there was no-one else around to fight Offenbach's corner when the thread started, if only to counter the rather smugly off-hand responses by two since long-gone members.

OK, accusations can be hurled at Offenbach for being a bread-and-circuses composer who was probably far too prolific for his own creative good, but I've never heard comic opera that makes me smile as much as Offenbach's does when he was on good form, and there are at least four of his works for the stage that deserve to remain evergreen.


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## OntarioMike

I've never understood the need of some people to scorn the tastes of others. Snobbery drives people away from the Classical world. There are composers that I dislike, so I either endeavour to learn more (and perhaps change my mind) or I stay silent. I love Offenbach. He was my gateway to Opera. I adore La Belle Helene, Les Contes d' Hoffman, La Perichole, and Orphee aux Enfers.


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## Pugg

OntarioMike said:


> I've never understood the need of some people to scorn the tastes of others. Snobbery drives people away from the Classical world. There are composers that I dislike, so I either endeavour to learn more (and perhaps change my mind) or I stay silent. I love Offenbach. He was my gateway to Opera. I adore La Belle Helene, Les Contes d' Hoffman, La Perichole, and Orphee aux Enfers.


Hear, hear:tiphat:
Don't listen to it if you feel you are to great or to good


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## sharik

*Offenbach* - _Les Brigands_






*Offenbach* - _La Grande Duchesse du Gerolstein _


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## Grizzled Ghost

I quite like this album:









His cello concerto is really crazy but fun! The Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld is very good. The other tracks on the album are light fluff, but there's nothing wrong with them.


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## Meyerbeer Smith

sharik said:


> *Offenbach* - _Les Brigands_
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Offenbach* - _La Grande Duchesse du Gerolstein _


That's a brilliant production of _Les Brigands_!


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## StlukesguildOhio

PostMinimalist said:


> Shouldn't this be in the worst composers thread?


Only for the hearing impaired.


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## StlukesguildOhio

OK, accusations can be hurled at Offenbach for being a bread-and-circuses composer who was probably far too prolific for his own creative good, but I've never heard comic opera that makes me smile as much as Offenbach's does when he was on good form, and there are at least four of his works for the stage that deserve to remain evergreen.

I fully agree. It is interesting how in other threads the influence of this or that composer is touted as proof of their importance... but what of the influence of Offenbach? His works were incredibly influential upon the entire genre of operetta... including Gilbert & Sullivan, Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, etc... His work was also loved by "serious" composer including: Debussy, Bizet, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. His music combined elements of "high" and "low" (popular) culture which ultimately impacted the larger culture of the time... embraced by writers and especially visual artists. As a sworn Wagnerian I still appreciate his light-hearted deflation of the "seriousness" of Wagner and Berlioz. Similarly I appreciate the social criticism of his work... often aimed at Napoleon III and his government. Ultimately I find much of his music fun... sheer pleasure... sensual... and laden with memorable melodies. His music may be "mere" Parisian bon-bons... but sometimes bon-bons are just what I desire and there are none finer IMO.


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## Bellinilover

I _love_ LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN -- one of my all-time favorite operas, and I'm lucky to have seen it in three different productions. It contains one of my favorite operatic ensembles:


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## Pugg

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Only for the hearing impaired.


Hera, hear, such a snobs out there


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## Meyerbeer Smith

I love Offenbach's music!

There's a line from Offenbach to Monty Python and Asterix. Which other composer would give you a heroine singing a waltz while being cooked by cannibals?





Or the hero pursued by Public Opinion?





Or a love duet in which one of the parties is Zeus disguised as a blowfly?





Or a trio sung in pidgin Italian (one of the funniest moments in music)?





Or the Ronde des Chemins de fer? (Can't find a version online!)

(more below!)


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## Meyerbeer Smith

(more above!)

His music is witty and inventive. Listen to the syllabic "Maris ré" ensemble from _La Périchole_:





And these are delightful:









(more below!)


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## Meyerbeer Smith

(more above!)
Offenbach's music can also be ravishingly beautiful. The Barcarolle from _Hoffmann _is justly famous, but "Des cendres de ton cœur" is one of the few moments in opera that makes me cry.





Also worthy of the Mozart of the Champs-Elysées:













And, even though it's not authentic Offenbach:
[video] 



[/video]


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## Becca

Bellinilover said:


> I _love_ LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN -- one of my all-time favorite operas, and I'm lucky to have seen it in three different productions. It contains one of my favorite operatic ensembles:


This is a rather unfortunate example as, while it makes a great scene, it was not by Offenbach! It was created by later editors of the opera using existing music and first appeared in a production of _Hoffman_ in 1904 in Monte Carlo.


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## christomacin

Can't bring myself to hate a composer who this:




or the United States Marine Corps hymn!:


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## Andrew Kenneth

I can listen to this all day =>


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## Rogerx

Andrew Kenneth said:


> I can listen to this all day =>


Great watching, loads on You Tube.


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