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Glite Dictionary
Jacques Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach

1 8.1
A French composer who wrote operettas and the opera The Tales of Hoffmann
  • proper noun
  • /ʒɑk ɔfɛnbak/
: Jacques Offenbach
  • Jacques Offenbach is best known for his operetta 'Orpheus in the Underworld'.

Examples

  • During the 19th century, Jacques Offenbach was a leading figure in Parisian musical theatre.

  • The works of Jacques Offenbach greatly influenced the development of light opera.

  • Jacques Offenbach is famous.

  • The famous composer Jacques Offenbach was born in Germany.

  • Jacques Offenbach is celebrated for his iconic operetta 'The Tales of Hoffmann'.

  • As a prominent composer, Jacques Offenbach contributed significantly to French operetta.

  • Jacques Offenbach became a pivotal figure in the world of 19th-century musical theatre.

Surface Forms

Jacques Offenbach main

Morphology

Jacques + Offenbach

This is a proper name (a personal name) rather than a compositional phrase, so knowing the constituent tokens 'Jacques' and 'Offenbach' does not allow a B1 learner to infer the referent's identity as a 19th-century French composer or details about his works. Proper nouns are referential and arbitrary across languages, making their specific biographical meaning unpredictable from their parts.

Etymology

Jacques Offenbach belongs to a composer from the 1800s who was born Jacob in Germany but moved to Paris and took the French name 'Jacques'. He became famous for short, lively stage shows called 'operettas', like 'Orpheus in the Underworld', so his name now brings to mind cheerful, comic music.