The son of a Cologne synagogue cantor, Offenbach and his violinist brother Julius were trained at the Paris Conservatoire. Jacques Offenbach thereafter found employment as a cellist, initially at the Opéra-Comique. He developed 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 Théâtre Français, but in 1855 he 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 100 lighter pieces for the stage, Orphée aux enfers (‘Orpheus in...