Offenbach's Secret - Offenbachs Geheimnis
In Offenbachs's Secret, Academy Award winning director István Szabó throws new light on the timeless interplay between power, helplessness, courage and conformity in his character studies of two of the most scintillating personalities of France's Deuxième Empire: the affable composer entrepreneur Jacques Offenbach, and his aristocratic patron Charles de Morny. István Szabó recreates a memorable night at the theatre in turbulent 1860’s Paris. Show-casing eccentrically staged performances of two Offenbach short operas, István Szabó brings to the life the composer Offenbach and his contemporaries in a delightful political satire. Bonus: The missing manuscript of "The Tales of Hoffmann" by Gérald Caillat: This documentary recounts the history of the missing manuscript showing the roles of all involved in this "musical detective story": score owners, music publishers, musicologists, opera directors, conductors, stage directors, etc, from Paris to New York via Hamburg and Burgundy. Includes two J. Offenbach one act operas: Croquefer, ou Le dernier des paladins & Les deux Aveugles
Facts DVD
(Idéale Audience, France, 2004)