Jacques Offenbach, a famous Cellist, a Church musician and romantic? To 200. Birthday shows, the Offenbach Festival in new facets of the well-known operetta composer.
“Piff, Paff, Puff”, so it is currently on gaudy yellow posters in the Cathedral city of Cologne for the first Jacques Offenbach-Festival is advertised. “Piff, Paff, Puff” sounds like a broken exhaust pipe or an exploding confetti cannon at a Party.
The latter is the case in, for example, because it is celebrated in these days of 200. Birthday of the operetta composer Jacques Offenbach, on August 20. June, 1819, was born in Cologne, Germany. In Cologne, there are, however, neither Offenbach-theatre a Offenbach-Museum. After all, the square in front of the Cologne Opera house is named after him. In Paris, where Offenbach in 1880 has died, it looks similar to skim.
The unloved son of his city
Co-founder of the Offenbach-society Thomas Höft
There are many reasons and one of them is, perhaps, the Jewish origin of Jacques Offenbach, who came as the son of a synagogue Cantor to the world. At least, that of the Dramaturg and artistic consultant of the festival, Thomas Höft suspected: “I have for many years worked for the well-known conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and he asked me: ‘Why do we play Offenbach in Zurich, Graz and Vienna, but not in Cologne?'” The answer he provided. “This is probably this old anti-Semitic history of the city.” Höft wanted to be and rounded up subsequently, well-known people from the arts, media, and citizenship, to establish a Offenbach company.
It sounds like a love, a hatred, as she has perceived the Poet Heinrich Heine to his home town of Düsseldorf. There, too, pay tribute to decades of a hard time, the famous son of the city. “It was the same time and the same Jewish Background,” confirms Thomas Höft. “Both were banished from the history of the cities, and we want to bring Offenbach back to consciousness.”
The master of the operetta can be more
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein in a new production at the Cologne Opera
Offenbach has established the entertaining operetta as a separate Genre. Operettas such as “The Parisian life” or “Orpheus in the under world” with its famous Cancan, the most well-known of his works. “In the minds of which there are five or six works that you connect with Offenbach, but he wrote a total of around 140 works for the stage,” says the musicologist Ralf-Olivier Schwarz, who accompanied the Offenbach Festival with his Expertise. Offenbach was a much more colorful, and more complex personality, as it gives the history of reception so far.
While the see a of Offenbach, with its mocking operettas as “frivolous entertainment”, are trying other scientists about his socio-critical allusions in the texts to Napoleon III highlight. While Offenbach had not been so politically and I wrote funny operas for pure entertainment, says Ralf-Olivier Black. “I can’t understand what is supposed to be good entertainment artistically bad. Good entertainment is worth much who has not found out Offenbach.”
The Offenbach Festival in Cologne do not only invite to concerts, street theatre and Cabaret, but also to conversation and discussion rounds. There is a lot to discover, like the young Church musician who wrote music for the synagogue, or the cellist and composer of romantic operas. A Offenbach, wants to fit in, according to the latest findings in a drawer so right.
Offenbach, the gifted Cellist
Because Offenbach was also a gifted Cellist, wanted to bring him to his father at a young age at the national Conservatory of Paris under. Actually, there foreigners have not been included, but Isaac Offenbach was all the Persuasion. After that, Jacques went from Offenbach’s cellist career steep, especially in the Paris Salons.
The country boy Dorchester and the cellist Bruno Philippe can be proud of concert on their performance of the Cello
One of the most difficult works for cello, the cello Concerto in G major, composed by Offenbach, in 1850, still in use today. The state youth orchestra NRW has played in the Offenbach Festival. “We have asked a number of renowned cellists, but no one wanted to play the Solo,” says the managing Director of the orchestra, Agnes Rottland. After the concert, the French soloist, Bruno Philippe is not known, he did not know whether he would be playing after four performances of the piece ever live again. Who not only heard, but also saw how his fingers without a break for 45 minutes over the strings slid – everyone felt that a second tone, a Vibrato can relate to his pain.
Offenbach has even marketed
“Offenbach was a PR and marketing genius and has marketed itself,” explains Black. The image of the “devil’s cellist,” he maintained, just as later, the Image of the “frivolous, under holder,” says Offenbach’s biographer. “Because he is like the devil cellist also effective in fainting, and then the ladies bending over him to bring this aschfahlen artist back to life. Then he had the whole Salon to its side.”
Biographer, Ralf-Olivier Black is excited about Offenbach’s life and works
In 1870, he long ago, his own theatre, was the acceptance of so great. The German-French war also made him the life. The French saw him as a German enemy, the Germans stamped him as a frivolous Frenchman and a traitor. Anti-Semitic currents existed in the two countries, so that Offenbach could no longer continue after the war to his earlier successes, and the country withdrew.
But he was not impoverished, as he on 5. October 1880 in Paris died. A successful tour of America, had him in 1876, brought in enough money to live on. All of him had not forgotten the Paris also. 3000 mourners have accompanied his coffin. The Church doors of the funeral were left open, so that the people are able to listen to Bach’s music, including some pieces from the new unfinished fantastic Opera “the tales of Hoffmann”.
Offenbach in the Museum
Jacques Offenbach in the circle of his family before 1880
The Offenbach society don’t want to have to worry about the jubilee year, in addition to that, the versatile musician would not be forgotten. “In the city of Cologne is planned for the Jewish Museum Miqua the story of Offenbach’s will be an integral part,” says the managing Director of the festival, Claudia Hessel. It also sounded in July when folk fireworks display “Cologne lights” music by Jacques Offenbach. Piff, Paff, Puff, would like to say here. But actually, this saying has a different story:
“Piff, Paff, Puff is a funny ironic song of the General ‘boom’ from the comic Opera ‘The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein’,” explains dramaturge Thomas Höft. “His wars are held on the table, his victories, he celebrates with Drinking, and his weapons are humour.” It was serene and strange. “I think, with this ironic sense, this is the right title for our Festival, because Offenbach is cheerful and in the best sense of the word, strange at the same time”.