Cancan and barcarolle : the life and times of Jacques Offenbach / Arthur Moss & Evalyn Marvel.
| Author/creator | Moss, Arthur author. |
| Other author | Marvel, Evalyn, author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | 1st edition. |
| Publication Info | New York : Exposition Press, [1954] |
| Description | 280 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Paris is the promised land -- The curse of the "evil eye" -- "Mozart of the Champs-Elysées" -- Orpheus on the boulevards -- "La Vie parisienne" -- "Make way for the Dutchess of Gerolstein" -- Flight from the Prussians -- Boulevardier on Broadway -- Grand finale. |
| Abstract | This is the life of Jacques Offenbach, German by birth, French by choice and temperament. From the Street of the Bells in the ghetto of Cologne to the Champs Elysees, from the dance hall to the Bouffes-Parisiens, this is the story of contrasts. Most of us know Jacques Offenbach only as the composer of the incomparable Tales of Hoffman and Orpheus in the Underworld. But what do we know about the life and times of Jacques Offenbach? After many years of exacting and detailed research, the authors have produced a spirited, impassioned biography of Offenbach on the man, struggling to hurdle the obstacles cast into the life arena of youth and genius; Offenbach the artist, generating new standards of musical taste; Offenbach the showman par excellence, surmounting financial distress in a feverish rise to fame; Offenbach the lover, distracted from a beautiful, devoted wife by the magnetic dazzle and glitter of ravishing women. Jacques Offenbach was born Jakob Eberst (Offenbach), the son of a poor bookbinder and musician. The most gifted of twelve children, he began his musical studies at the age of six. His father quickly recognized the boy's ability and gave him the best musical education he could afford. When it became apparent that the boy deserved more than Cologne could give him, his father finally entered Jacques in the Conservatoire in Paris. He was then fourteen. Even the famed Conservatoire proved no challenge, and could occupy this young genius only briefly. After some extracurricular training with Fromenthal Halevy, the prodigy began composing on his own. By the time he reached forty, he was the toast of Paris. Here is the tender love story of his courtship and marriage to Herminie d'Alcain, their family life, Offenbach's contribution to the development of the operetta as a genre, the exciting history of the rise and fall of Louis Napoleon's III Empire, the intrigues of the boulevards, the tortured inner life, loneliness and frustrations of the artist; and above all, the gaiety and verve of Offenbach's personality and music are skillfully interwoven into a rich tapestry of melody and words, intoxicating, colorful, and expressive. |
| General note | "A Banner book." |
| LCCN | 54009055 |