Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) is widely regarded as the founding father of French operetta. With more than a hundred comic stage works to his name – including Orphée aux Enfers, Les brigands and La belle Hélène – he firmly established the genre. At the same time, he left a lasting mark with his lyrical opera Les contes d’Hoffmann, which continues to be performed regularly to this day.
From Jakob to Jacques
Jacques Offenbach was born on 20 June 1819 in Cologne as Jakob Offenbach, the son of a bookbinder and amateur violinist who later became a synagogue cantor. He took cello lessons and quickly showed exceptional musical talent. His father sent him, together with his brother Julius, to study at the Paris Conservatoire. There, Jakob changed his name to Jacques to make his German origins less conspicuous in French musical circles.
However, the strict curriculum under then-director Luigi Cherubini did not suit him. After just one year, Offenbach left the conservatoire and began working at the Opéra-Comique, where he rose to fame as a celebrated cellist, known for his wit and humour. During this time, he also composed his first works for cello and piano.
A musical life in the Parisian salons
In Paris, Offenbach built a network within the salons of the aristocracy. It was in one of these salons that he met Hérminie d’Alcain. After a series of successful tours, the two married in 1844 and went on to have five children. In the early years of their marriage, Offenbach mainly performed as a cellist, but he also began composing: vocal music and short theatrical pieces, often performed in intimate salon settings.
Following the revolution of 1848, he was appointed conductor at the Comédie-Française, where for the first time he was able to present his own compositions to a broader audience – a turning point in his career.
Breakthrough with Orphée aux Enfers
Offenbach’s breakthrough came in 1858 with his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux Enfers. The Opéra-Comique had previously rejected his work, but this comic adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice struck a chord with audiences – partly due to the uproar surrounding a scathing review in the Journal des Débats. Offenbach cleverly used the controversy as publicity, and the work became an unexpected triumph.
In the years that followed, he composed a series of highly successful operettas, including La belle Hélène (1864), La vie parisienne (1866), La grande-duchesse de Gérolstein (1868) and Les brigands (1869). La belle Hélène was also initially met with criticism, but thanks to the public attention, it too became a favourite with audiences.
Offenbach’s operas
Although Offenbach is best known as a composer of light-hearted works, he also wrote two operas. His first, Die Rheinnixen (1864), premiered in Vienna and was later performed in Cologne. The work then fell into obscurity for many years, until it was rediscovered in 2005 in Ljubljana. Since then, it has occasionally appeared in programmes across Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
In 1877, Offenbach began work on his lifelong dream: the composition of Les contes d’Hoffmann, a romantic opera based on the stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann. He continued working on the piece up until shortly before his death. While the vocal parts were completed, the orchestration remained unfinished. After Offenbach’s death in 1880, the opera was completed by his friend Ernest Guiraud, with help from Offenbach’s son Auguste.
A setback after the war
Following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), Offenbach – born in Germany – faced suspicion and a decline in popularity in France. He left for England and went on tour. By the time he returned to Paris, tensions had eased somewhat, and his works were once again appreciated by the public.
From the 1860s onwards, Offenbach suffered from severe gout. In his final years, the pain often forced him to travel to the theatre by carriage, and composing became increasingly difficult. Work on Les contes d’Hoffmann slowed as a result. On 5 October 1880, Offenbach died of a heart attack following an acute gout attack. He was given a state funeral and buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.
Offenbach at Dutch National Opera
In autumn 2025, the family production Operetta Land will be presented by Dutch National Opera & Ballet. From 5 to 23 October 2025, experience this imaginative celebration of the operetta – featuring music by, among others, Jacques Offenbach – live in Amsterdam.