Offenbach: Overtures

Jacques Offenbach is best remembered for his operettas, but the dramatic Ouverture à grand orchestre is a rarely heard early piece that presages his future in musical theatre. The enduring popularity of Orpheus in the Underworld is due in no small part to the Can-Can, now one of the most iconic pieces in Western classical music. Orpheus was Offenbach’s first full-length operetta, and The Drum-Major’s Daughter was to be his last, those in between including the popular vaudeville of Monsieur et Madame Denis, humorous satires on Parisian life, and La Belle Hélène, an instant success that enjoyed an initial run of 700 performances.