Jacques Offenbach
Master of operetta and king of entertainment during the Second Empire, the
"Mozart of the Champs-Élysées" enjoyed unbroken success on stage, from his first
triumph with Orpheus in the Underworld to his latest with Les Contes d'Hoffmann.
A French composer of German origin, Jakob Offenbach was born into an Ashkenazi
Jewish family in Cologne, then in Prussia, on June 20, 1819. His father Isaac, a
synagogue cantor, violinist and music teacher, introduced him to the instrument
before entrusting him to the care of cellist Bernhard Breuer. A gifted pupil, he
formed a trio that performed...
