Jacques Offenbach, née Jacob Eberst, is the founder of operetta, a talented composer, conductor and cellist. He was considered one of the most gifted and outstanding composers of the 19th century. Offenbach's operettas are known all over the world. Thanks to his advice and influence, Johann Strauss established a center for operetta art in Vienna.
Jacques Offenbach's entire life was devoted to classical music, operetta and operatic art. His magnificent works are still staged on theaters around the world. Shortly before his death, Offenbach created the opera "The Tales of Hoffmann", which became one of the best works in the history of theatrical performances.
Early years and the beginning of the creative path
Jacques was born in 1819, on June 20, into a large Jewish family and was the seventh child of his parents. His parents were from a poor class and it was extremely difficult for them to support their children. My father gave private music lessons, was a cantor at the local synagogue and composed his own works. It was thanks to his father that music entered Jacques' life from birth. He was perhaps the most gifted child in the family and began to show his natural talent early on.
Jacques's creative biography began at the age of seven. The boy wrote his first works at the age of 10. By that time, he had already mastered playing the violin and cello, and soon began giving concerts, performing his own musical compositions.
When Jacques was 14 years old, his father decided that the young man should be taken to France and sent to study at the conservatory, where he could get a decent education.
In Paris, the young man was lucky. Although no one but local residents was admitted to the conservatory, an exception was made for the talented musician. In France, he had to change his name: instead of Jacob Eberst, Jacques Offenbach appeared.
Years in Paris
During his studies, Jacques did not stop writing music, learning to play the cello, performing at balls and in salons and playing in orchestras. He did not succeed in completing his studies due to lack of money, but his talent was enough to independently continue his creative path and become a professional musician.
The young man dreamed of creating opera works and was constantly looking for new opportunities to realize his talent. At first, he traveled a lot around the country with famous musicians, performing on theatrical stages. However, fame was in no hurry to come to Offenbach. Only after the creation of his own theater "Bouffes Parisiens" in 1855, his work brought the composer his first success. No one imagined that the small theater would go down in history and become on a par with the most famous theater stages in Europe. The first operetta "Orpheus in Hell" was staged on its stage, in which the famous cancan was performed. Thanks to this performance, a new direction of theatrical art appeared - operetta.
In the same period, the composer's personal life also changed. He meets a girl from a wealthy family who dearly fell in love with Jacques. The wife became not only a close person for the musician, but also his best friend. To legitimize his relationship, Jacques had to convert to Catholicism. The husband and wife have lived together for more than three decades, and during this time they had four children.
Over the next years, Offenbach created a number of works of the operetta genre, which were a tremendous success among the French public. His melodies are humming everywhere, and performances are always sold out. This continued until the start of the Franco-Prussian War.
During the hostilities, the theater was closed, and Offenbach himself began to be harassed by newspapermen. As a result, Jacques was forced to declare himself bankrupt and temporarily stop doing theater.
last years of life
By the end of 1887, the composer's health began to deteriorate. However, he creates two more works "Madame Favard" and "The Daughter of the Tambour Major", which were successfully performed on the theater stage. At the same time, Jacques began to create his opera "The Tales of Hoffmann", which he had dreamed of for many years, but he never got to see the performance itself.
The composer died of suffocation in 1880, on October 5, and was buried in Paris.
The production was completed by Jacques Offenbach's friend Ernest Guiraud and premiered in 1881.
