The Styrous® Viewfinder: 20,000 vinyl LPs 387: Jacques Offenbach

vinyl LP front cover

cover illustration by Steinweiss

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of French composer, cellist and impresario, Jacques Offenbach who was born on June 20, 1819. He wrote 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann (link below). He was an influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Franz von Suppé, Johann Strauss II and Sir Arthur Sullivan.

In 1858 Offenbach produced his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), with its celebrated can-can; the work was exceptionally well received and has remained his most played.

His works from the 1860's include La belle Hélène (1864), La Vie parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868). The risqué humour (often about sexual intrigue) and mostly gentle satiric barbs in these pieces, together with his facility for melody, made them internationally known, and translated versions were successful in Vienna, London, elsewhere in Europe and in the US

Gaite Parisienne is a ballet in one act choreographed by Léonide Massine with a libretto and décor by Comte Étienne de Beaumont and costumes executed by Barbara Karinska, it was first presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo on April 5, 1938.

Gaite Parisienne features various dances: ballet, waltz, bolero, gavotte, Barcarolle (which resembles ), etc., but the infamous Can-Can is the gem and hilight of the work! The word Can-Can in french originally meant "scandal," or edge, because the dancers performed on the edge of the stage. Very few people are aware that the 'X-Rated' construction of the gowns worn was what caused the furor! In the 19th century, women wore pantalettes, which had an open crotch, and the high kicks were intentionally revealing (links below).

Jacques Offenbach ~ Gaite Parisienne

vinyl LP back cover

photo by Styrous®

This recording features Efrem Kurtz who conducted the original performance of Gaite Parisienne in 1938.

Jacques Offenbach ~ Gaite Parisienne

vinyl LP sides 1 & 2

photos by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

Offenbach* Gaite Parisienne
A1 – Overture; Tortoni
A2 – Gallop; Valse; March
A3 – Grand Valse; Can Can No. 1
A4 – Can Can No. 2; Quadrille
Russian Music

Side 2:

B1 Prokofiev* – March, Op. 99, Arranged By Efrem Kurtz
B2 – Rimsky-Korsakov* – The Flight Of The Bumble Bee
B3 – Glinka* – Life Of The Czar-Mazurka
B4 – Shostakovich* –The Age Of Gold-Polka
B5 – Shostakovich* – Waltz (No. 2 Of "Les Monts D'Or" Suite)
B6 – Tchaikovsky* – Eugen Onegin-Entr'acte And Waltz

Credits:

Conductor – Efrem Kurtz
Cover – Steinweiss*
Liner Notes – Morris Hastings
Orchestra – Columbia Symphony Orchestra (tracks: A1 to A4), Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra Of New York (tracks: B1 to B6)

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Matrix / Runout (A side label): XLP 1490
Matrix / Runout (B side label): XLP 1491
Matrix / Runout (A side runout stamped): XLP 1490 B 2B
Matrix / Runout (B side runout stamped): XLP 1491 2C G A

Offenbach*, Efrem Kurtz, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra Of New York* – Gaite Parisienne Ballet & Russian Music
Label: Columbia Masterworks – ML 4233
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1949
Genre: Classical

Viewfinder links:

Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo

Comte Étienne de Beaumont

Efrem Kurtz

Léonide Massine

Jacques Offenbach

Net links:

Come To Paris ~ A History of the French Can-Can

Comte Étienne de Beaumont

Weebly ~ The Can Can Dance

YouTube links:

Jacques Offenbach -