Jacques Offenbach (born Jacob Offenbach, June 20, 1819, Cologne – October 5, 1880, Paris) was a German-born French Romantic-era composer and cellist who became a naturalized French citizen in 1860. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire and initially a celebrated touring cellist, he founded the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in 1855, launching his career as the creator and dominant figure of French operetta during the Second Empire. He composed nearly 100 stage works, including the operettas “Orphée aux enfers” (1858), “La belle Hélène” (1864), “La Vie parisienne” (1866), and “La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein” (1867), as well as his posthumously premiered grand opera “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” (The Tales of Hoffmann, 1881).

Dubbed ‘the Mozart of the Boulevards,’ Offenbach essentially invented the modern operetta genre, combining witty satire, dazzling orchestration, and irresistible melody; he directly influenced Johann Strauss II, Arthur Sullivan, and the later tradition of musical theatre, and his Tales of Hoffmann and the ‘Infernal Galop’ (can-can) from Orphée aux enfers remain staples of the classical repertoire.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach