I first came across Jacques Offenbach's opera Fantasio on German radio about 20 years ago. The recording they were playing was much older still and wasn't authentic in any way. But it was enough to ...

Offenbach's Fantasio drew a blank with audiences at its Paris premiere in 1872. Its failure is frequently ascribed to bad timing. Based on a play by Alfred de Musset, whose work was unpopular at the ...

Offenbach’s Fantasio only lasted for ten performances on its premiere in Paris in 1872, although when one listens to the work it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the hostility was directed ...

Gripping stuff? Not on a dramatic level. But it’s still a charming creation. Right from the start, Elder and the OAE’s period instruments lovingly revealed the delicacy of Offenbach’s orchestrations ...

A work thought lost by Offenbach, "Fantasio" has been lovingly restored and performed for the first time onstage in Paris. Jacques Offenbach’s “Fantasio” is back on the opera stage in Paris, at the ...

British label Opera Rara has been recording neglected Offenbach pieces intermittently since the Seventies, but recent years have seen a closer engagement with the composer. Its latest project is ...