Les contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach, Jacques). The Tales of Hoffmann - Wikipedia. This article is about Offenbach's opera. For Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1. The Tales of Hoffmann (film). The Tales of Hoffmann (French: Les contes d'Hoffmann) is an op. Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann Event, Performing Arts Series, Garden City. By the time he came to tackle the composition of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Offenbach’s opus already included more than a hundred operas. Les Contes d'Hoffmann est un op. Il propose de raconter l’histoire des trois grands amours de sa vie. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. Hoffmann is the protagonist in the opera.
Composition history and sources. Salomon handed the project to Offenbach. Work proceeded slowly interrupted by the composition of more profitable lighter works. Offenbach himself had a premonition that like Antonia he would die prior to its completion. Shortly before he died he had written to L. Il ne me reste plus longtemps . I have not much time left and my only wish is to attend the opening night). Both men requested the rights, but Offenbach granted them to Carvalho. This production remained in the repertoire until World War II, receiving 7. Later local premieres included Buenos Aires in 1. St Petersburg in 1. Barcelona in 1. 90. London in 1. 91. 0. Gourdon. Voice of the mother of Antoniamezzo- soprano. Dupuis. Students, Guests. Synopsis. The Muse appears and reveals to the audience that her purpose is to draw Hoffmann's attention to herself, and to make him abjure all other loves, so he can be devoted fully to her: poetry. She takes the appearance of Hoffmann's closest friend, Nicklausse. The prima donna Stella, currently performing Mozart's. Don Giovanni, sends a letter to Hoffmann, requesting a meeting in her dressing room after the performance. The letter and the key to the room are intercepted by Councillor Lindorf (. Lindorf intends to replace Hoffmann at the rendezvous. In the tavern students wait for Hoffmann. He finally arrives and entertains them with the legend of Zaches the dwarf (. Lindorf coaxes Hoffmann into telling the audience about his life's three great loves. Act 1 (Olympia). Hoffmann falls in love with her, not knowing that Olympia is a mechanical doll (! Courage et confiance.. Ah! Courage and confidence .. To warn Hoffmann, Nicklausse, who knows the truth about Olympia, sings a story of a mechanical doll who looked like a human, but Hoffmann ignores him (. Hoffmann is tricked into believing that his affections are returned, to the bemusement of Nicklausse, who subtly tries to warn his friend (. While dancing with Olympia, Hoffmann falls on the ground and his glasses break. At the same time, Copp. With the crowd laughing at him, Hoffmann realizes that he was in love with an automaton. Act 2 (Antonia). Miracle, 1. This act is based on . Hoffmann and Antonia loved each other, but were separated when Crespel decided to hide his daughter from Hoffmann. Antonia has inherited her mother's talent for singing, but her father forbids her to sing because of the mysterious illness from which she suffers. Antonia wishes that her lover would return to her (. Her father also forbids her to see Hoffmann, who encourages Antonia in her musical career, and therefore endangers her without knowing it. Crespel tells Frantz, his servant, to stay with his daughter, and when Crespel leaves, Frantz sings . When Crespel returns, he receives a visit from Dr Miracle, the act's Nemesis, who forces Crespel to let him heal Antonia. Still in the house, Hoffmann listens to the conversation and learns that Antonia may die if she sings too much. He returns to her room and makes her promise to give up her artistic dreams. Antonia reluctantly accepts her lover's will. Once she is alone, Dr Miracle enters Antonia's room and tries to persuade her to sing and follow her mother's path to glory, stating that Hoffmann is sacrificing her to his brutishness and loves her only for her beauty. With mystic powers, he raises a vision of Antonia's dead mother and induces Antonia to sing, causing her death. Crespel arrives just in time to witness his daughter's last breath. Hoffmann enters the room and Crespel wants to kill him, thinking that he is responsible for his daughter's death. Nicklausse saves his friend from the old man's vengeance. Act 3 (Giulietta). The act opens with the barcarolle . Hoffmann falls in love with the courtesan Giulietta and thinks she returns his affections (. Giulietta is not in love with Hoffmann but only seducing him under the orders of Captain Dapertutto, who has promised to give her a diamond if she steals Hoffmann's reflection from a mirror (. The jealous Schlemil (cf. Peter Schlemihl for a literary antecedent), a previous victim of Giulietta and Dapertutto (he gave Giulietta his shadow), challenges the poet to a duel, but is killed. Nicklausse wants to take Hoffmann away from Venice and goes looking for horses. Meanwhile, Hoffmann meets Giulietta and cannot resist her (! Hoffmann tells Dapertutto that his friend Nicklausse will come and save him. Dapertutto prepares a poison to get rid of Nicklausse, but Giulietta drinks it by mistake and drops dead in the poet's arms. Epilogue. Hoffmann, drunk, swears he will never love again, and explains that Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta are three facets of the same person, Stella. They represent, respectively, the young girl's, the musician's, and the courtesan's side of the prima donna. When Hoffmann says he doesn't want to love any more, Nicklausse reveals himself as the Muse and reclaims Hoffmann: ! The poet tells her to leave (. Nicklausse explains to Stella that Hoffmann does not love her any more, but that Councillor Lindorf is waiting for her. Some students enter the room for more drinking, while Stella and Lindorf leave together. Musical numbers. He died on 5 October 1. As a result, different editions of the opera soon emerged, some bearing little resemblance to the authentic work. The version performed at the opera's premiere was by Ernest Guiraud, who completed Offenbach's scoring and wrote recitatives. Over the years new editions have continued to appear, though the emphasis, particularly since the 1. In this regard a milestone was the Michael Kaye edition of 1. In 2. 01. 1, two competing publishing houses . Here are some of the edition . Offenbach's order was Prologue. Only recently has the original order been restored, and even now the practice is not universal. The general reason for the switch is that the Antonia act is more accomplished musically. The designation of the acts is disputed. The German scholar Josef Heinzelmann (de), among others, favours numbering the Prologue as Act One, and the Epilogue as Act Five, with Olympia as Act Two, Antonia as Act Three, and Giulietta as Act Four. Changes to the story itself. The opera was sometimes performed (for example during the premiere at the Op! In 1. 88. 1, when the opera was first performed in Vienna, the Giulietta act was restored, but modified so that the courtesan does not die at the end by accidental poisoning, but exits in a gondola accompanied by her servant Pitichinaccio. Spoken dialogue vs. Similarly, the four villains (Lindorf, Copp. While the doubling of the four villains is quite common, most performances of the work use different singers for the loves of Hoffmann. This is because different skills are needed for each role: Olympia requires a skilled coloratura singer with stratospheric high notes, Antonia is written for a more lyric voice, and Giulietta is usually performed by a dramatic soprano or a mezzo- soprano. When all three roles (four if the role of Stella is counted) are performed by a single soprano in a performance, it is considered one of the largest challenges in the lyric- coloratura repertoire. Notable sopranos who have sung all three roles include Karan Armstrong, Vina Bovy, Edita Gruberov. All four roles have been performed by Josephine Barstow, Diana Damrau, Elizabeth Futral, Marlis Petersen. A successful performance of this version was produced at the Lausanne Opera (Switzerland). Another recent edition by Michael Kaye has been performed at the Op. The Antonia and epilogue are in the Bn. F, while the Giulietta act is in the Offenbach family archives. Well- regarded recordings have included: a 1. This recording is based on the Kaye- Keck version of the opera. References. Orpheus in Paris: Offenbach and the Paris of his time. Translated by Gwenda David and Eric Mosbacher. Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Liner notes). London: Decca Records. Hoffmann, translated by Alexander Ewing^. John Thomas Bealby^Lamb, Andrew . In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera Macmillan, London and New York, 1. Wolff, St. Almanacco Amadeus (Italian).^ ab. Keck, Jean- Christophe. Paris: Georges Charpentier et Eug. Paris, 2. 00. 6.^Voice types as given in Avant- Sc. Retrieved 1. 6 August 2. Retrieved 3. 1 May 2. The Wall Street Journal. The Tales of Hoffmann: A Performance Guide. Vox musicae series, no. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press. News item in Diapason No. Avril 2. 01. 6, p. Gammond, Peter (1. The illustrated encyclopedia of opera. New York: Crescent Books.
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