Offenbach, Jacques
In 2015 a nightclub in Paris called the Ba-ta-clan became the target for a terrorist attack. Few people would know that it was named after one of Offenbach’s greatest successes…
It would be interesting to calculate how many of the plots of successful operettas deal with marital infidelity: this one is perhaps the classic of the genre. It had great and direct influence on Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, where, by contrast, the infidelity remains suggested and hinted at rather than directly, cynically but wittily exposed...
The character of Périchole, whose cunning, energy and passion outwit all the men, isn’t just a vehicle for a singing actress with a comic gift. She is a memorable creation worthy of the Mérimée of Carmen, yet never too shocking for a well-heeled audience...
Offenbach’s opéras-bouffes remain popular to this day in English-speaking countries, even in translations which obscure their peculiarly French wit and bite. But Offenbach survives as a serious composer, too, on the strength of Tales of Hoffmann...