Jacques Offenbach

Operas Ba-ta-clan (1855) Les deux aveugles (1855) La bonne d'enfant (1856) Le mariage aux lanternes (1857) Orpheus in the Underworld (1858) Geneviève de Brabant (1859) Daphnis et Chloé (1860) M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . . (1861) Le pont des soupirs (1861) Die Rheinnixen (1864) La belle Hélène (1864) Barbe-bleue (1866) La vie parisienne (1866) La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) Robinson Crusoé (1867) L'île de Tulipatan (1868) La Périchole (1868) Les brigands (1869) Bagatelle (1874) Le voyage dans la lune (1875) Madame Favart (1878) La fille du tambour-major (1879) The Tales of Hoffmann (1880, unfinished)

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The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d'Hoffmann) is an opera by Jacques Offenbach. It was first performed in Paris at the Opéra-Comique on February 10, 1881.

The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is himself a character in the opera as in his stories. Barbier, with Michel Carré, had writen a play Les contes fantastiques d'Hoffmann produced at the Odéon Theatre in Paris in 1851, which Offenbach had seen.^[1]

The stories upon which the opera is based are Die Gesellschaft im Keller, Der Sandmann,^[2] Die Abendteuer der Sylvester-Nacht, Rath Krespel, ^[3] and Das verlorene Spiegelbild.

[edit] The different editions of the opera

The opera contains a prologue, three acts and an epilogue. Offenbach did not live to see his opera performed, since he died on October 5, 1880, just over four months before its premiere. Before his death, Offenbach had completed the piano score and orchestrated the prologue and the first act. Since he did not entirely finish the writing, many different versions of this opera emerged, some bearing little resemblance to the original work. The version performed at the opera's premiere was that by Ernest Guiraud, who completed Offenbach's scoring and wrote the recitatives.

The main modifications often encountered are:

• Addition of extra music not written by Offenbach for the work

Commonly directors choose among two arias in the Giulietta act:

"Scintille, diamant", based on a tune from the ouverture to Offenbach's operetta "Journey to the Moon" and included by André Bloch for a Monaco production in 1908.

The Sextet (sometimes called Septet, counting the chorus as a character) of unknown origin, but containing elemants of the Barcarolle.

• Changing of the order of the acts

The three acts, telling different stories from the life of Hoffmann, are independent (with the exception of a mention of Olympia in the Antonia act) and can easily be swapped without affecting the overall story. Offenbach's order was Prologue–Olympia–Antonia–Giulietta–Epilogue, but during the 20th century, the work was usually performed with Giulietta's act preceding Antonia's. Only recently has the correct 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.

• Naming the acts

Also the designation of the acts is disputed. The German scholar Josef Heinzelmann, who discovered and edited the censureship libretto, and others favour 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.

• Changing the story itself

This opera was sometimes performed (for example during the premiere at the Opéra-Comique) without the entire Giulietta act, though the famous Barcarolle from said act was inserted into the Antonia act and Hoffmann's aria "Amis! l'Amour tendre et rêveur" was inserted into the Epilogue. In 1881, when the opera was first performed in Vienna, Giulietta's act was restored, but modified, so that the courtesan does not die at the end by accidental poisoning, but exits by way of gondola accompanied by her servant Pittichinaccio. This ending has been the preferred one since then almost without exception

• Changing the spoken dialogue to recitative, resulting in the removal of some acts

Due to its opéra-comique genre, the original score contained many dialogues that have sometimes been replaced by recitative that so lengthened the opera that some acts were removed (see above).

• Changing the number of opera singers performing

Offenbach intended that the four soprano roles be played by the same singer, for Olympia, Giulietta and Antonia are three facets of Stella, Hoffmann's unreachable love. Similarly, the four villains should be performed by the same bass-baritone, because they are all manifestations of Evil. While the doubling of the four villains is quite common, most performances of the work use multiple sopranos for the heroines. This is due to the different skills 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 even a mezzo-soprano. When all three roles (four if the small but important 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. Famous sopranos who have attempted all three roles include Ninon Vallin, Beverly Sills, Anja Silja, Joan Sutherland, Edita Gruberová, Carol Vaness, Catherine Malfitano, Ruth Ann Swenson, Elena Mosuc, Annick Massis, Virginia Zeani, and Vina Bovy.

A recent version including the authentic music by Offenbach has been reinstated by the French Offenbach scholar Jean-Christophe Keck. A successful performance of this version was produced at the Lausanne Opera (Switzerland). However, most producers still prefer the traditional Choudens version, with additions from the version prepared by Fritz Oeser for financial reasons. Another recent edition by Michael Kaye, has been performed at the Opéra National de Lyon and the Hamburg State Opera with Elena Mosuc singing the roles of Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, and Stella in the 2007 production.

A complete explanation of the different versions, as well as translation of the libretto into English and IPA and translation into English of the literary sources is available.^[4]

[edit] Roles

[edit] Synopsis

Scenes from The Tales of Hoffmann from the Paris premiere

[edit] Prologue

A tavern in Nuremberg. 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 (Dans les rôles d'amoureux langoureux), who is the first incarnation of evil, Hoffmann's Nemesis. Lindorf intends to replace Hoffmann at the rendezvous. In the tavern students are waiting for Hoffmann. He finally arrives and entertains them with the legend of Kleinzach the dwarf (Il ètait une fois à la cour d'Eisenach), and is coaxed by Lindorf into telling the audience about his life's three great loves.

[edit] Act 1

Hoffmann's first love is Olympia, an automaton created by the scientist Spalanzani. Hoffmann falls in love with her, not knowing that Olympia is a mechanical doll (Allons! Courage et confiance...Ah! vivre deux!). Nicklausse, Hoffmann's best friend who knows who Olympia really is sings a story of a mechanical doll that looked like a human to warn Hoffmann but was ignored by him (Une poupèe aux yeux d'èmail). Coppélius, Olympia's co-maker and this act's evil incarnation, sells Hoffmann magic glasses which make Olympia appear as a real woman (J'ai des yeux).

Here Olympia sings one of the opera's most famous arias Les oiseaux dans la charmille ("The Doll Song") where she periodically keeps winding down just before hitting the final high note. Hoffmann is tricked into believing his affections are returned, to the bemusement of Nicklausse, who subtly tries to warn his friend (Voyez-la sous son éventail). While dancing with Olympia, Hoffmann falls on the ground and his glasses break. At the same time, Coppélius appears and tears Olympia apart, in retaliation for having been tricked out of his just dues by Spalanzani. In the middle of the crowd laughing at him, Hoffmann realizes that he was in love with an automaton.

[edit] Act 2

Venice. Hoffmann falls in love with the courtesan Giulietta and thinks his affections are returned (Amis, l'amour tendre et rêveur). Giulietta is not in love with Hoffmann but only seducing him under the orders of Captain Dappertutto, who promised to give her a diamond if she filches Hoffmann's reflection from a mirror (Scintille, diamant). Schlemil (see Peter Schlemiel for the literary antecedent), a previous victim of Giulietta and Dappertutto (he gave Giulietta his shadow) wants to save Hoffmann from his foolish passion for the courtesan by killing him.

He 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 (O Dieu! de quelle ivresse): he gives her his reflection, only to be abandoned by the courtesan, to Dappertutto's great pleasure. Hoffmann tells the evil man that his friend Nicklausse will come and save him. Dappertutto prepares a poison to get rid of Nicklausse, but Giulietta drinks it by mistake and drops dead in the arms of the poet.

[edit] Act 3

After a long search, Hoffmann finds the house where Crespel and his daughter Antonia are hiding. 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 and voice, but her father forbids her to sing because of the mysterious illness from which she is suffering. Antonia sings wishes that her lover would return to her (Elle a fui, la tourtelle). Her father also forbids her to see Hoffmann, who is encouraging Antonia in her musical career, and is therefore a danger to her without knowing it. Crespel tells Frantz, his servant to stay with his daughter and when he leaves, Frantz sings "Jour et nuit je me mets en quatre".

When Crespel leaves his house, Hoffmann takes advantage of the occasion to sneak in, and the lovers are re-united. When Crespel comes back, he receives the visit of Dr Miracle, the act's evil incarnation, 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 to make 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. Having some mystic powers, he raises a vision of Antonia's dead mother and induces her to sing to 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 (C'est l'amour vainqueur).

[edit] Epilogue

The tavern in Nuremberg. Hoffmann, drunk, swears he will never love again, and explains that Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta are three facets of a 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 anymore, Nicklausse reveals himself as the Muse and reclaims Hoffmann: "Be reborn a poet! I love you, Hoffmann! Be mine!" The magic of poetry reaches Hoffmann: "Beloved Muse, I am yours." At this moment, Stella, who is tired of waiting for Hoffmann to come to her rendezvous, enters the tavern and finds him drunk. The poet tells her to leave ("Farewell, I will not follow you, phantom, spectre of the past"), and Lindorf, who was waiting in the shadows, comes forth. Nicklausse explains to Stella that Hoffmann does not love her anymore, but that councillor Lindorf is waiting for her. Some students enter the room for more drinking, while Stella and Lindorf leave together.

[edit] The Barcarolle

The most famous aria from the opera is the "Barcarolle" (Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour), which is performed in Act 2. Curiously, the aria was not written by Offenbach with Les Contes d'Hoffmann in mind. He wrote it as a ghost-song in the opera Les fées du Rhin (which premiered in Vienna on February 8, 1864 as Die Rheinnixen). Offenbach died with Les contes d'Hoffmann unfinished. Ernest Guiraud completed the scoring and wrote the recitatives for the premiere. He also incorporated this excerpt from one of Offenbach's earlier, long-forgotten operas into the new opera.^[5].

The Barcarolle has inspired the English composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji his Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955–56). Moritz Moszkowski also wrote a virtuoso transcription of it.

The Barcarolle has been incorporated into many films, including Life Is Beautiful and Titanic.

[edit] Recordings

See The Tales of Hoffmann discography.

[edit] Film

• Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1916) was a silent German film adaptation directed by Richard Oswald.
• The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) was a British film adaptation written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

[edit] References

1. ^ Newman E. More Opera Nights. Putnam, London, 1954.
2. ^ Der Sandmann had provided the impetus for the ballet libretto of Coppélia (1870) with music by Léo Delibes.
3. ^ Lamb A. Jacques Offenbach. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
4. ^ Mary Dibbern, The Tales of Hoffmann: A Performance Guide, Pendragon Press ISBN 1-57647-033-4
5. ^ Nicolas Slonimsky, ed. Richard Kassel in Webster's New World Dictionary of Music, MacMillan, 1998, p. 365

[edit] External links

• Les contes d'Hoffmann: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Les contes d'Hoffmann at Project Gutenberg : libretto of a modified version (as first performed in the USA) in French and English
• Jacques Offenbach German website, accessed 27 April 2009 (German)