SKU: BT.DHP-1125039-140
9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.
Offenbach (1819 - 1880), who was born in Germany, moved to Paris when he was a teenage boy and remained there for much of his life. He became especially famous as a composer of numerous operettas. and of one famous opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). His operettas (or ‘musiquettes’) were often based on comical, or satirical librettos. He makes fun of Parisian daily life, dignitaries, the military, the pretentiousness of the Grand Opéra, and so on. In that respect, Offenbach’s operettas are not really comparable with those of his German-speaking contemporaries, for example, Franz Lehár and Johann Strauss the Younger. Musically speaking, we could callOffenbach’s operettas lively, funny, melodious and catchy.For La Belle Hélène, Offenbach drew from Greek mythology. The story is based on that of Helen of Troy, but is set in France, halfway through the 19th century; it has been turned into a satire on the élite of that time.The overture to La Belle Hélène was (and still is) very successful. Offenbach combined a number of arias and choruses from the operetta to give a taste of what is to follow. Many overtures which follow this form lack unity and structure. However, in this case the composition has been well thought-out. Offenbach (1819-1880), Duitser van geboorte, verhuisde als jongeman naar Parijs, waar hij een groot deel van zijn leven verbleef. Hij werd vooral beroemd als componist van talrijke operettes en een beroemde opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Zijn operettes (of ‘musiquettes’) zijn qua libretto vaak komisch en hilarisch, ja zelfs satirisch. Hij steekt hierin de draak met het Parijse mondaine leven, met hoogwaardigheidsbekleders, met militairen, met de bombast van de Grand Opéra, enzovoort. In dat opzicht zijn Offenbachs operettes nauwelijks te vergelijken met die in Duitsland van bijvoorbeeld Franz Lehár en Johann Strauss jr. Muzikaal gezien kunnen we zijn operettes levendig,geestig, melodieus en goed in het gehoor liggend noemen.Voor La Belle Hélène putte Offenbach uit de Griekse mythologie. Het verhaal draait om Helena van Troje, maar is verplaatst naar Frankrijk, halverwege de negentiende eeuw; het is uitgewerkt tot een satire op de heersende elite.De ouverture van La Belle Hélène was (en is nog altijd) zeer succesvol. Offenbach heeft hierin een aantal aria’s en koren uit de operette samengevoegd - een voorproefje dus op wat komen gaat. Veel ouvertures die zo zijn gemaakt, missen eenheid en structuur. In dit geval is er echter sprake van een goed doordachte opbouw. Der gebürtige Deutsche Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) zog im Jugendalter nach Paris, wo er den größten Teil seines Lebens verbrachte. Bekannt wurde er vor allem als Komponist zahlreicher Operetten und einer berühmten Oper: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Hoffmanns Erzählungen). Seine Operetten (oder Musiquettes“) basierte er häufig auf komischen oder gar satirischen Libretti. Darin wird das mondäne Pariser Leben karikiert mit seinen Würdenträgern, Militärs, dem Pomp der Grand Opéra und dergleichen mehr. In dieser Hinsicht sind Offenbachs Operetten vergleichbar mit den deutschen Werken eines Franz Lehár oder Johann Strauss (Sohn). Musikalisch betrachtet können Offenbachs Operetten alslebendig, amüsant, melodiös und eingängig beschrieben werden. Für La Belle Hélène bediente sich Offenbach der griechischen Mythologie. Die Handlung beruht auf Helena von Troja, wurde aber ins Frankreich der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts versetzt und in eine Satire auf die damals herrschende Elite verwandelt.Die Ouvertüre von La Belle Hélène war und ist sehr erfolgreich. Offenbach kombinierte darin eine Reihe von Arien und Chorstellen aus der Operette und lieferte so quasi einen Vorgeschmack auf das Folgende. Vielen auf diese Weise entstandene Ouvertüren mangelt es an Einheitlichkeit und Struktur. Diese Ouvertüre zeugt jedoch von einem gut durchdachten Aufbau. Jacques Offenbach est né en Allemagne en 1819. Sa famille s’installe Paris alors qu’il est encore adolescent et c’est l qu’il passe la plus grande partie de sa vie. Il devient particulièrement célèbre pour la composition de nombreuses opérettes et d’un opéra légendaire, Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Ses opéras-bouffes (ou « musiquettes ») s’inspirent souvent de livrets comiques ou satiriques. Il parodie la vie quotidienne Paris, se moque des dignitaires, de l’armée, de la prétention du grand opéra, et ainsi de suite. cet égard, les œuvres d’Offenbach ne sont pas vraiment comparables aux opérettes de ses contemporains germanophones tels que Franz Lehár ou encoreJohann Strauss le jeune. Musicalement parlant, on peut dire que les opéras-bouffes d’Offenbach sont entraînants, spirituels, mélodieux et mémorables.Jacques Offenbach s’est inspiré de la mythologie pour composer La Belle Hélène, dont le livret brosse l’histoire d’Hélène de Troie. Mais parodiant l’une des légendes grecques des plus illustres, cette opérette se veut être une satire sur l’élite de l’époque.L’ouverture de La Belle Hélène a toujours été très populaire. Offenbach y glisse plusieurs arias et chœurs repris ensuite dans l’un ou l’autre acte de l’opérette, afin d’en offrir un avant-go t l’auditoire. De nombreux compositeurs écrivirent par la suite des ouvertures de canevas identique. Bien qu’un grand nombre d’entre elles manquent d’unité et de structure, l’ouverture de La Belle Hélène en est une exception notoire.
SKU: BT.ALHE04608
French.
Opéra-bouffe en 1 Acte (French text).
SKU: HL.48187132
UPC: 888680839536. 7.25x10.75 inches.
Opéra-bouffe en 1 Acte (French text).
SKU: HL.48024666
ISBN 9781540058010. UPC: 888680951542.
Jacques Offenbach's more than 100 stage works are an endless treasure trove of vocal highlights with highly different musical moods and lyrical themes. To mark the 200th birthday of the great composer in 2019, which is at the same time the year of the 20th anniversary of the Offenbach Edition Keck OEK, the editor and Offenbach expert Jean-Christophe Keck has assembled a selection of arias. The four-part collection arranged according to voice category shows a rather unknown, romantic side of Offenbach. Apart from rediscovered works and first editions, however, the collection is not complete without some of his unrivalled hits. The volume for baritone/bass proves that Offenbach also wrote varied rewarding repertoire pieces for deep male voice: drinking song, prayer and arioso show the facets of the mercenary soldier Conrad from the grand opera Les Fees du Rhin, whereas the Prince from Fantasio, the pedlar from Le 66 or the Great Mogul from Barkouf are perfectly fun-loving characters. Apotheker und Peruckenmacher, too, was one of Offenbach's great comedy successes. Of a more lyrical character is the husband of Madame Favart, an opera comique from the late years of the composer's life. Romantic Offenbach is aimed at fully trained and budding professionals as well as at Offenbach fans of every shade and colour, providing repertoire pieces for recitals, studies or private music-making.
SKU: HL.48024665
ISBN 9781540058003. UPC: 888680951535.
Jacques Offenbach's more than 100 stage works are an endless treasure trove of vocal highlights with highly different musical moods and lyrical themes. To mark the 200th birthday of the great composer in 2019, which is at the same time the year of the 20th anniversary of the Offenbach Edition Keck OEK, the editor and Offenbach expert Jean-Christophe Keck has assembled a selection of arias. The four-part collection arranged according to voice category shows a rather unknown, romantic side of Offenbach. Apart from rediscovered works and first editions, however, the collection is not complete without some of his unrivalled hits. This volume shows that the composer especially liked to entrust the tenors with tender, sentimental numbers. But the melancholy is not always as genuine as that of the involuntary jester from the opera comique of the same name (here represented by the well-known Ballad to the Moon): Characters like Pluto, Paris or Robinson Crusoe know how to use their melodious voices with quite some ulteriormotive to achieve their goal. The character Frantz, traumatized by war, from the grand opera Les Fees du Rhin, however, is one of Offenbach's few deeply tragic figures. Romantic Offenbach is aimed at fully trained and budding professionals as well as at Offenbach fans of every shade and colour, providing repertoire pieces for recitals, studies or private music-making.
SKU: BT.ALHE33754
Born in Laval, Françoise Semellaz studied in Le Mans and Paris before embarking on a successful teaching career. Currently a professor at the Lille Conservatoire, she devotes herself to classical singing. As avocalist herself, this compilation of Decouvrir L'Opera Français is well-informed. Containing airs for Mezzo-Sopranos and Contraltos, the accompaniment is helpfully recorded on the CDincluded. Airs include those by Boiëldieu, Delibes, Gounod, Massenet, Offenbach, Saint-Saëns and Thomas. With a detailed preface and wide selection of Airs, Semellaz's DecouvrirL'OperaFrançais is essential to all aspiring, advanced Mezzo-Sopranos and Contraltos.
SKU: BT.SCHBB6600175
(Vocal Score) (German). Offenbach, J.
SKU: HL.48024663
ISBN 9783793142171. UPC: 888680951511. 9.0x12.0x2.92 inches.
Jacques Offenbach's more than 100 stage works are an endless treasure trove of vocal highlights with highly different musical moods and lyrical themes. To mark the 200th birthday of the great composer in 2019, which is at the same time the year of the 20th anniversary of the Offenbach Edition Keck OEK, the editor and Offenbach expert Jean-Christophe Keck has assembled a selection of arias. The four-part collection arranged according to voice category shows a rather unknown, romantic side of Offenbach. Apart from rediscovered works and first editions, however, the collection is not complete without some of his unrivalled hits. Among the characters figuring in the soprano volume are not only title figures like the Beautiful Helen, the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein or the Princess of Trébizonde but also figures from more serious operas: Armgard from Les Fées du Rhin or Elsbeth from Fantasio. The volume presents stage works, including excerpts from Barkouf, Les Bergers or Le Roi Carotte, that are accessible for performances only as of recently. Romantic Offenbach is aimed at fully trained and budding professionals as well as at Offenbach fans of every shade and colour, providing repertoire pieces for recitals, studies or private music-making.
SKU: BT.ALHE04624
Jacques Offenbach: La Belle Hélène (Opera).
