Jacques Offenbach

The Profile

Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) was a German-born French composer and cellist, a pioneer of operetta and a central figure of 19th‑century Parisian musical theater. He created enduring works such as Orphée aux enfers, La Belle Hélène, La vie parisienne, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, La Périchole, and the posthumously premiered opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann.

Celebrated as the “Mozart of the Champs Elysées,” Offenbach defined Parisian boulevard operetta with effervescent melodies and sharp comic writing. A DeBaser review praises La Périchole’s catchy numbers and recommends the Lombard/Crespin/Vanzo recording.

A single, passionate review explores Offenbach’s La Périchole as instantly familiar, melodic, and quintessentially Parisian. It highlights several catchy numbers and a definitive choral waltz, laments the work’s neglect, and recommends the Lombard/Crespin/Vanzo recording. The reviewer recalls Rossini’s tag for Offenbach: the “Mozart of the Champs Elysées.”