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A History of the French Cancan. A History of the French Cancan. It is the world famous dance that became synonymous with the heady days of the Belle Epoque, but the French Cancan still has the power to turn heads! Let’s trace the origins of a legend amidst a cascade of lifted skirts, frills and high kicks.
Jacques Offenbach's Gallop From Orpheus In The Underworld is the tune most associated with the Can-Can The can-can (more correctly but less commonly not hyphenated, as in the original French: cancan) is a high-energy and physically demanding music hall dance, traditionally performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings. The main features of the dance are the lifting up and manipulation of the skirts, with high kicking and suggestive… read more
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Rank | Play | Loved | Artist and track name | Buy | Options |
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1 | Jules Gressier — Orphée aux enfers : 'galop infernal' (musique du french cancan) | ||||
2 | Jacques Offenbach — Can-Can | ||||
3 | Bad Manners — Can Can | ||||
4 | The Unicorns — The Unicorns: 2014 | ||||
5 | Doc & Lena Selyanina — Naughty Waltz | ||||
6 | Jacques Offenbach — Orpheus in the Underworld: Can-Can | ||||
7 | Can — Pauper's Daughter And I | ||||
8 | Ridan — Rentre Chez Toi | ||||
9 | Keiichi Oku — Tengokuto Jigoku Witha ROCK | ||||
10 | TV Commercial — It's Slinky |
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Admired yet underestimated: that was the fate of German-French operetta composer Jacques Offenbach, who was born 200 years ago. Here's a look back at his work.
Dancers holding up high the seams of their frilly dresses, kicking their legs to reveal petticoats and lacy underwear: the cancan dance is the highlight of many musical shows in Paris. People recognize the tune, which was composed by Jacques Offenbach for his 1858 operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. People are usually also familiar with the composer's 'Barcarolle' from the opera Tales of Hoffmann.
Jacques Offenbach, who was born in the German city of Cologne on June 20, 1819 and died in Paris in 1880, is regarded as the founder of the modern operetta. A masterful entertainer, he was characterized by 'typical Rhineland humor and French esprit,' as German cabaret artist Konrad Beikircher said at the December kick-off event of the Offenbach bicentennial that will be celebrated throughout 2019.
Beyond clichés
'Yes, we cancan' is the motto of the celebration staged by the Jacques Offenbach Society, which was established just three years ago in Offenbach's hometown of Cologne. He is not honored enough, even in hometown, says Claudia Hessel, coordinator of the Offenbach celebration events, adding that the association aims to create awareness for Offenbach and show that he did more than write cancan music.
![French Cancan Musique Telephone French Cancan Musique Telephone](http://frenchculture.org/sites/default/files/styles/max/public/parade-3401537_1920.jpg?itok=gVH7neRi)
It's time to throw overboard clichés and legends about Offenbach, agrees Ralf-Olivier Schwarz, an expert adviser in the association.
There is so much nonsense circulating about Offenbach, more than about any other famous composer, says Schwarz, adding that Offenbach never let frivolous leg-tossing ladies onstage in his operettas. 'People say his operettas are light, playful even, but if you take a closer look, you'll see that everything is minutely thought-out.'
To launch the anniversary year, Schwarz put together a small exhibition presenting the most important stages of the composer's life that is scheduled to move on to Berlin and Paris.
From Cologne viaParis to the world
Offenbach's father was a music teacher and Jewish cantor. The young Jakob, as Offenbach was called as a child, played the cello and performed in pubs in Cologne. In 1833, his father sent the virtuoso to Paris to further his career under the stage name of Jacques Offenbach.
Tout Paris flocked to see and hear Offenbach, and Friday evenings at his home were legendary, with famous artists and musicians beating a path to his doorstep.
In 1850, Offenbach became musical director of the Comedie Francaise, but under Emperor Napoleon III, the state music theaters were off bounds to him. So he started his own theater, the 'Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens,' where he lampooned the ruling classes with a great deal of humor. 'I want the audience to laugh,' he wrote, 'not about harmless trifles but about the fact that important dangerous matters can be overcome.'
Jaques Offenbach
Admired, forgotten, rediscovered
The opera Orpheus in the Underworld was Offenbach's breakthrough in 1858. 'In it, the god Jupiter is a fly and is ridiculed,' says Ralf-Olivier Schwarz, adding that was probably directed at Emperor Napoleon, 'whose family has a coat of arms with a bee.'
Offenbach's works were celebrated across Europe and beyond, even in far-off Brazil, China and Japan. He was successful as a musician, yet Jacques Offenbach was an outsider: In the 1870/71 Franco-Prussian War, the French thought he was a spy for Otto von Bismarck, while the Germans dismissed him as a 'frivolous Frenchman' and a traitor. Anti-Semitism was on the rise then in both countries.
No longer as successful in France after the war, he was celebrated at the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876.
DW recommends
- Date20.06.2019
- AuthorGaby Reucher (db)
- Related SubjectsRock am Ring, Beyoncé
- KeywordsJacques Offenbach,Cancan,music
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- Permalinkhttps://p.dw.com/p/394LV