Text Box:  18. This next composer is another one from France. Jacques Offenbach, real name Jacob Wiener, Jacob Levy, or Jacob Eberst…depending on where you read about him. He lived from 1819 to 1880, that’s 61 years. This composer, like Mendelssohn, didn’t use his real name in order to hide the fact he was Jewish. He instead used “Offenbach”, the name his father gave the family in honor of his own birthplace in Germany. Owing to a tolerance for Jews, father Offenbach sent his son to Paris when he was 14 to study the cello. He, subsequently, spent the rest of his life in France, especially in his beloved Paris. Thus this great composer is often referred to as a French. This makes no difference because his music is powerful whether it be called French or German. Of all our composers, this one was probably the most dapper, except for maybe Puccini (Pu Chee nee) or Debussy (Day bue see”). He wore impeccable suits, beautiful shirts with nice collars, natty bow ties, and a very stylish monocle. It is interesting to note that Offenbach made a tour of the United States in 1876, and in a book recounting his experiences, he depicted the country as barbaric, and even criticized the contemporary custom of no alcoholic drinks on Sundays. Goulding doesn’t rank him in the top 50. A famous work of his comes from his opera, Tales of Hoffman…written in 1864, and called Barcarolle Night of Stars. A barcarolle is a boating song, especially associated with the gondoliers of Venice, Italy.