Artist page

Jacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era, born on June 20, 1819, in Cologne, Germany, and died on October 5, 1889, in Paris, France. Of German-Jewish ancestry, with his father being a cantor, he became one of the most influential composers of popular music in 19th-century Europe, with many of his works remaining in the repertory. Offenbach is best known for his numerous operettas, including "Orphée aux enfers" (Orpheus in the Underworld) and "La belle Hélène," which gained immense popularity in France and the English-speaking world during the 1850s and 1860s. His works often featured political and cultural satire along with witty parodies of grand opera. Although his popularity in France declined during the 1870s following the Second Empire, he experienced a resurgence in his later years, and several of his operettas continue to be performed today. While Offenbach is closely associated with French operetta and the Second Empire, his sole fully operatic masterpiece, "Les contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann), composed towards the end of his career, has become the most recognized of his works in major opera houses. He also served as music director for seven years.

For any edit requests, please reach out to info@rovr.live