L'Opéra Comique © Photo: Citadelles&Mazenod - Sabine Hartl & Olaf-Daniel Meyer Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Opéra Comique
Paris, Opéra Comique — Salle Favart
About the Event
While his mistress Stella triumphs in Don Giovanni by Mozart, the poet Hoffman drinks himself into a stupor in the tavern adjacent to the theatre. Stirred by the presence of his rival Lindorf, he delights the assembly with a wild recounting of his romantic misadventures. Only his friend Nicklauss is anxious to restore his clarity of mind…
A master of comic opera genre under the Second Empire, Offenbach revealed his romantic soul in this fantastical opera, which stands as his most ambitious creation. As satirical as it is poignant, it is based on an excellent libretto that brings together several tales and paints a portrait of the leading figure of European Romanticism, E. T. A. Hoffman. The posthumous creation of The Tales of Hoffman at the Opéra‐Comique received the triumph that Offenbach had dreamt of all his life.
A stalwart of the Opéra‐Comique since its beginnings, the formidable Michael Spyres embodies the role that every tenor dreams of. Lotte de Beer and Pierre Dumoussaud revisit this masterpiece, signing a dizzying plunge into the psyche and fantasies of an artist whose inspiration battles with his inner demons.
Fantastic opera in five acts or a prologue, three acts and an epilogue,
Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann | Adapted by Jules Barbier based on the play co‐written with Michel Carré in 1851 | Created at the Opéra‐Comique on 10th February 1881.
Cast / Production
Musical direction, Pierre Dumoussaud • Stage direction, Lotte de Beer • with Michael Spyres, Héloïse Mas, Amina Edris, Jean‐Sébastien Bou, Raphaël Brémard, Nicolas Cavallier, Matthieu Justine, Matthieu Walendzik, Marie‐Ange Todorovitch • Choir, Ensemble Aedes • Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Address
Opéra Comique, 1 Place Boieldieu, Paris, France — Google Maps
