Jacques Offenbach Biography

The son of a Cologne synagogue cantor, Offenbach and his violinist brother Julius were trained at the Paris Conservatoire, and Jacques Offenbach thereafter found employment initially as a cellist at the Opéra-Comique followed by a successful early career as a virtuoso on the instrument, for which he wrote a number of works, including a Concerto militaire and a Concertino. He was for five years conductor at the Théatre Français, but in 1855 rented his own theatre, where his early light-hearted stage-works were performed. He continued a successful career devoted largely to operetta and opéras comiques until his death in 1880.

Stage Works

Of nearly a hundred lighter pieces for the stage, Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) is best known, in particular for its famous can-can.