Tuesday, October 25, 2011

ABC Wednesday, October 27th, 2011

The letter this week is O




O stands for Jacques Offenbach who wrote this marvelous Galope Infernal taken from Act 2 Scene 2 of his operetta 'Orpheous in the Underworld',  first performed in 1858.

Offenbach used Greek mythology as a backdrop, the operetta being an irreverent parody and scathing satire on Gluck and his 'Orfeo ed Euridice'.

It culminates in this risque galop infernal that shocked some in the audience at the premiere!!!  It is famous outside classical circles as the music for the "Can-can.  BTW, Saint-Saens borrowed the Galop, slowed it to a crawl, and arranged it for the strings to represent the tortoise in 'The Carnival of the Animals'.

But this is Offenbach's day, so do enjoy this rendition by the FernsehBallett, and visit here at ABC Wednesday for more interpretations of the letter O, with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her 'orferly' good helpers.




10 comments:

Chubskulit Rose said...

Interesting!

Learn some Filipino custom and words with my O entr

Scriptor Senex said...

Truly shocking it was. But then most things that bring in the new are considered that at the time. Well done, Offenbach.

VioletSky said...

Well, that was fun!

Reader Wil said...

You have again treated us to a real beautiful post! I have always liked the can can and the music of Offenbach. Good choice Hildred and Charles.
Thanks for visiting my blog.

Roger Owen Green said...

You CAN CAN write about Offenbach anytime!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love Orpheus Hildred - it is one of my favourites, so I enjoyed the clip immensely. Thanks.

Carver said...

Great post for the letter O. I enjoyed it.

Roy Schulze said...

Your description of the Offenback-Glick antagonism reminds me of the more modern conflict between the animators at Disney and Warner Brothers. Walt Disney took himself far too seriously with Fantasia, and the bad boys at WB went to great lengths in several cartoons to mock his mawkishness, most obviously in A Corny Concerto. My ABC Wednesday is O is for Oracle.

Tumblewords: said...

Terrific post!

ChrisJ said...

I didn't know that about the Can Can and the Carnival of the Animals. I must go back and listen to that again. Very interesting.