Neeme Järvi and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande explore Offenbach’s effervescent music in this third album of their survey of French orchestral works of the nineteenth century – all recorded in Geneva’s historic Victoria Hall.

From highly successful satirical operettas, e.g. Orphée aux enfers, La Belle Hélène, Barbe-bleue, La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein, and La Vie parisienne, to more ambitious works such as Vert-Vert, La Fille du tambour-major, and Les Contes d’Hoffmann, the vividly tuneful overtures on this SACD recording reveal the captivating imagination of this prolific composer, as well as the flourishing theatrical life of Paris in his day.

Although he was born in Germany, it was for Paris (the Bouffes-Parisiens, Palais-Royal, Opéra-Comique, Variétés theatres) that Offenbach composed those works. Their brilliant tunes continue to delight over 130 years after his death.

Neeme Järvi, one of the most recorded living conductors, has championed similar repertoire with the OSR, such as the finest orchestral works of Chabrier [CHSA 5122] and Massenet [CHSA 5137], to critical acclaim.