Orc Nat De Lille/Ang - Jacques Offenbach: Overtures - La Fille du tambour-major, Orph�e aux enfers

Jacques Offenbach is best remembered for his operettas, but the dramatic Ouverture � grand orchestre is a rarely heard early piece that presages his future in musical theatre. The enduring popularity of Orpheus in the Underworld is due in no small part to the Can-Can, now one of the most iconic pieces in Western classical music. Orpheus was Offenbach�s first full-length operetta, and The Drum-Major�s Daughter was to be his last, those in between including the popular vaudeville of Monsieur et Madame Denis, humorous satires on Parisian life, and La belle H�l�ne, an instant success that enjoyed an initial run of 700 performances.