Jacques Offenbach Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In what year was Jacques Offenbach born?
A. 1815
B. 1819
C. 1823
D. 1827
Answer: B. 1819
Q2. What was Jacques Offenbach’s birth name before he adopted the French version?
A. Jacob Offenbach
B. Jean Offenbach
C. Jules Offenbach
D. Isaac Offenbach
Answer: A. Jacob Offenbach
Q3. What instrument did Offenbach begin studying at age nine, which became his primary one?
A. Violin
B. Piano
C. Flute
D. Cello
Answer: D. Cello
Q4. At what age did Offenbach move to Paris to study at the Conservatoire?
A. 12
B. 14
C. 16
D. 18
Answer: B. 14
Q5. Who was the director of the Paris Conservatoire when Offenbach auditioned and was accepted as a cello student?
A. Fromental Halevy
B. Luigi Cherubini
C. Hector Berlioz
D. Friedrich von Flotow
Answer: B. Luigi Cherubini
Q6. What role did Offenbach hold at the Opera-Comique starting in 1835 to support himself?
A. Conductor
B. Composer-in-residence
C. Cellist in the orchestra
D. Vocal coach
Answer: C. Cellist in the orchestra
Q7. Which composer later studied with and praised Offenbach’s potential in composition and orchestration?
A. Georges Bizet
B. Fromental Halevy
C. Charles Gounod
D. Camille Saint-Saens
Answer: B. Fromental Halevy
Q8. In 1844, Offenbach performed a royal command concert before which monarch?
A. Queen Victoria
B. Napoleon III
C. Kaiser Wilhelm I
D. Louis Philippe I
Answer: A. Queen Victoria
Q9. What was Offenbach’s first staged operetta, premiered in 1847?
A. Les deux aveugles
B. L’Alcove
C. Ba-ta-clan
D. Le violoneux
Answer: B. L’Alcove
Q10. During the 1848 Revolution in Paris, where did Offenbach temporarily flee?
A. London
B. Vienna
C. Cologne
D. Brussels
Answer: C. Cologne
Q11. In 1850, Offenbach was appointed musical director of which theater, where he composed incidental music for plays?
A. Theatre des Varietes
B. Comedie-Francaise
C. Opera-Comique
D. Theatre du Chatelet
Answer: B. Comedie-Francaise
Q12. What theater did Offenbach lease and open in 1855 in the Champs-Elysees, limited initially to three singers due to licensing?
A. Theatre des Folies-Nouvelles
B. Theatre Comte
C. Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens
D. Salle Lacaze
Answer: C. Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens
Q13. Which 1855 one-act operetta by Offenbach featured the singer Hortense Schneider and became an early hit?
A. Oyayaye ou La reine des îles
B. Le Violoneux
C. Pepito
D. Le tresor a Mathurin
Answer: B. Le Violoneux
Q14. What satirical full-length operetta, premiered in 1858, parodied Greek mythology and included the famous can-can dance?
A. Orphee aux enfers
B. La belle Helene
C. Genevieve de Brabant
D. La Vie parisienne
Answer: A. Orphee aux enfers
Q15. In which year did Offenbach receive French citizenship from Napoleon III?
A. 1855
B. 1860
C. 1865
D. 1870
Answer: B. 1860
Q16. What was Offenbach’s only substantial ballet, premiered in 1860 with choreography by Marie Taglioni?
A. Le papillon
B. La Creole
C. Robinson Crusoe
D. Vert-Vert
Answer: A. Le papillon
Q17. Which 1864 operetta by Offenbach satirized the Trojan War and became one of his most enduring successes?
A. Les brigands
B. La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
C. La belle Helene
D. Barbe-bleue
Answer: C. La belle Helene
Q18. What 1866 work by Offenbach depicted the bustling life of Paris and was his first major success at the Theatre des Varietes?
A. La Vie parisienne
B. Le pont des soupirs
C. La Perichole
D. Le roi Carotte
Answer: A. La Vie parisienne
Q19. Which 1867 operetta featured a bumbling grand duchess and was banned during the Franco-Prussian War for its antimilitaristic tone?
A. Robinson Crusoe
B. La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
C. L’ile de Tulipatan
D. Le chateau a Toto
Answer: B. La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
Q20. In what year did Offenbach premiere La Périchole, based on a Peruvian street singer’s story?
A. 1866
B. 1868
C. 1870
D. 1872
Answer: B. 1868
Q21. What serious opera by Offenbach, composed in 1864, premiered unsuccessfully in Vienna and was revived only in 2002?
A. Die Rheinnixen
B. Les contes d’Hoffmann
C. Fantasio
D. Barkouf
Answer: A. Die Rheinnixen
Q22. During the Franco-Prussian War, Offenbach’s family was exiled to which location for safety?
A. London
B. San Sebastian, Spain
C. Geneva
D. Brussels
Answer: B. San Sebastian, Spain
Q23. What major event prompted Offenbach’s 1876 tour to the United States, where he conducted over 40 concerts?
A. The World’s Fair in Philadelphia
B. The New York Opera Festival
C. The Centennial Exhibition
D. A royal invitation from President Grant
Answer: C. The Centennial Exhibition
Q24. Which 1879 operetta was Offenbach’s most popular work of the 1870s, set during the Napoleonic Wars?
A. Madame Favart
B. La fille du tambour-major
C. Belle Lurette
D. La haine
Answer: B. La fille du tambour-major
Q25. On what date did Jacques Offenbach die in Paris?
A. October 5, 1880
B. June 20, 1880
C. December 24, 1879
D. March 15, 1881
Answer: A. October 5, 1880