Jacques said...

Jacques Offenbach, a 14-year-old Prussian and Jew, arrived in Paris in 1833. A gifted cellist, he dreamed of having his compositions performed at the Opéra-Comique, whose doors remained permanently closed to him.

Could Offenback, Le Devin, have guessed that his meeting with Morny, Haut Personnage, would soon lead him to a fabulous destiny?

In 1855, thanks to Morny's support, the "Bouffes-Parisiens" theater opened on the Champs-Elysées. This was the genesis of a universal success story, as Jacques and his librettists distilled a caustic salt into their work, not sparing the powerful,
castigating power in satirical works. Combining musical, theatrical and scenic genius, they populate the stage with tyrants so comical, so sympathetic, that even the Duke draws inspiration from them! Not least in his own opéra-bouffe, Monsieur Choufleuri.

Thanks to these passionate historians, lecturers and singers, accompanied by a chamber orchestra, discover the road strewn with successes (and pitfalls) for this brilliant composer and his benefactor-protector, the Duc de Morny!