Opera "Tales of Hoffman": content, video, interesting facts, history

J. Offenbach opera "Tales of Hoffmann"

100 operettas for 41 years - that's what Jacques Offenbach is called one of the most prolific composers in history. However, in the genre of opera, the master seemed more selective, having written only two of them. Moreover, the second, ready to argue on popularity with any of his most famous operettas, he did not have time to complete. Swan song "Mozart Champs Elysees" - "Tales of Hoffmann".

Summary of the opera Offenbach "Tales of Hoffmann" and a lot of interesting facts about this work, read on our page.

Summary of "Tales of Hoffman"

Prologue

Luther's tavern not far from the opera house, where in Mozart's Don Juan a divine stage stands - Stella. Once she was an aspiring singer and lover of the poet Hoffmann, but then they parted ways: she was expected to be a great success, but he remained an unrecognized genius. However, the Muse of Poetry visited him. Now she was afraid that the feelings that flared up with a new force towards Stella would make the poet lose his head and neglect her. She turns into Niklaus and mingles with a crowd of students who descend into the tavern.

Appears Lindorf, rival Hoffmann, who also seeks the location of the singer. Hoffman, even in a circle of friends, cannot think of anyone but Stella. Noticing Lindorf, he says that the counselor intervened in all his love stories. Friends are asked to tell about these cases, and while the second act of the opera begins in the theater, Hoffmann becomes immersed in the memories ...

Olympia

Inventor Spalanzani finished work on a unique mechanical doll Olympia, with which he hopes to earn money. Optician Coppelius, who made Olympia's eyes, demanded a fee for them. Spalanzani writes him a check, knowing that he is completely useless, because his bank has been ruined.

Hoffman sees Olympia from afar and falls in love with her. Coppelius sells him magic glasses, showing only what he wants to see - in this case, that Olympia is alive.

Spalantsani presents his invention to the guests of the evening party, the doll sings, Hoffman dances with her and confesses his love. Suddenly, her mechanism goes out of control, it starts moving faster and faster. Enraged Coppelius appears, realizing that Spalanzani had deceived him, and breaks Olympia. Hoffman drops his glasses and, shocked, sees that the object of his love is just a mechanical doll.

Anthony

In Munich, young Antonia misses her mother, the great singer. Crespel, took her far away from Hoffmann, hoping to destroy their romance and put an end to her singing - he inherited a bad heart from the mother and the tension could kill her. Hoffman still finds Anthony, who almost lost consciousness due to an excess of feelings.

Dr. Miracle comes, whom Crespel considers the culprit of his wife's death. The doctor offers to cure the daughter, but Crespel drives him away. Hoffman hears their conversation and persuades Anthony to stop singing. But in his absence, Miracleus sneaks over to the girl and gives her the image of a mother who wants her daughter to repeat her success. Anthony cannot resist. She sings until she drops dead.

Juliet

Venice. Ball in the courtesan palace of Juliet. Niklaus warns Hoffman against a new hobby, but Juliet fascinates him and he confesses her love. The courtesan is dominated by the sorcerer Dapertutto, who forces her to kidnap Hoffmann's reflection - as a symbol of his soul. Similarly, earlier she had kidnapped the reflection of Slam, her admirer, who causes the poet to a duel and perishes from his hand. Hoffmann is trying to kill Juliet, but she is blocked by the dwarf Pittikañaccio - her real lover.

Epilogue

Having finished his story, Hoffman wants only one thing - to forget these stories. But with the help of Niklaus he understands that each story characterizes one of Stella’s personality traits. She came to the tavern after the performance, finds Hoffmann drunk, and leaves with Lindorf. Niklaus again takes the form of Muse, offering the poet to find solace in the works.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• Three love stories from the opera are based on the stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann's "Sandman" (Act 1), "Counselor Crespel" (Act 2), "Adventures in Silvestrov's Night" (Act 3). The framing story of the opera star Stella is based on the plot of Hoffmann's "Don Juan".
• According to the plan Offenbach The parts of all 4 lovers of Hoffmann were to be sung by one singer, as well as the parts by all 4 villains, and 3 servants from Pittikačaccio. Nowadays, in many productions, 8 men's parties of the opera are really performed by two soloists. But to perform in one evening in 4 women's parties under the power of very few singers, because they are written in different tessitura. But nevertheless in the vocally close parts of Antonia and Stella most often one performer goes.
• Mozart's opera "Don Juan"appearing in Hoffmann's Fairy Tales for a reason. The writer at birth was named Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann, but he changed his third name to Amadeus in honor of his beloved composer. In addition, Mozart adored Offenbach. And Rossini he himself was aptly called "Mozart of the Champs Elysées".

• Nowadays, in the number of performances in the season, "Tales of Hoffman" outpace competitors such as "Don carlos"Verdi,"Faust"Gounod or"Lohengrin"Wagner. In total, more than 700 performances are given annually.
• In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war broke out, during which in both of his native Offenbach countries he became an outcast. The Germans considered him a traitor, and the French - a supporter of Prussia. After the defeat of France, the composer was declared almost the culprit - after all, it was his operetta that demoralized and disrupted society, undermined the foundations of French values. From December 1869 to December 1871 there was not a single new work of the composer, usually producing 4-5 performances per year. In Hofmann's Fairy Tales, concluding this difficult decade, Offenbach reconcilingly connected the French opera traditions with the plot of a German writer.

Popular arias and numbers from Hoffmann's Tales

"Barcarolla“- the duet of Juliet and Niklaus. For a long time it was believed that the appearance of the most famous melody“ Hoffmann's Tales ”was due not to this opera, and not even to its creator, but to Ernest Giro, who included in the third act“ Barcarolle ”from the debut opera Offenbach“ Rhine written in 1864. Since the third act of Hoffmann’s Tales was not included in the premiere version, Barcarolle was transferred to the second, where it was performed for many years. However, after Offenbach’s manuscripts were discovered in the 20th century, the initiator of the transfer of music from the "Rhineland Dean "he himself appeared.

Barcarolla (listen)

Olympia Aria "Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille". A half-hour-long role for Olympia requires filigree possession of the actress, not only with her voice, but also with her body. This party is rightfully among the ten most difficult on the operatic stage. It abounds in coloratura with a change of tempo of singing and, as a rule, has a specific plastic pattern imitating the movements of a mechanical doll.

Aria of Olympia (listen)

Hoffmann couplets. Unpretentious, but catchy couplets about Kleinzek are in essence Hoffmann's exit aria.

Hoffmann couplets (listen)

History of creation and productions

Despite the fact that the writing of the score "Tales of Hoffman" Jacques Offenbach was busy in his last year, with the play by J. Barbier and M. Carré, which served as the basis for it, he was well acquainted with almost half his life. In the 1850s, she walked in Paris under the same name. Even then, he decided that her plot would make an excellent opera - he shared these considerations with the authors of the play. Libretto was born only in 1878 - it was created by J. Barbier.

Initially it was assumed that the Opera would be staged by the Theater de la Goethe, in which many operetta Offenbach marched, but by the time the maestro was ready to present his work in general terms, the theater had gone bankrupt and disbanded the troupe. So "Tales of Hoffman" got to the magnificent impresario Leon Corvalho in Opera-Comic.

The composer's idea was that all 4 women's parties were to be performed by one soprano, as well as 4 batches of evil geniuses - one bass-baritone. Offenbach created music, referring to specific soloists and the style of productions of the Theater de la Goethe, and when they changed, they had to make changes to the score. So, Hoffmann transformed from a baritone into a tenor, while women's parties were remade specifically for the Adele Isaac coloratura. It was not yet completely transferred to the higher tessitura party of Juliet, when the composer died suddenly.

The creative method of Offenbach assumed the complete completion of work on the score after the premiere in public, when he revised and supplemented his compositions. Since he died before the opera was completed, there remained only scattered sketches that the first few performances went through. Composer Ernest gyro collected, arranged and orchestrated these records, added recitatives, sometimes using music from other works by Offenbach. At the Paris premiere of 1881 and later - in Vienna, the opera won the love of the public and spread throughout Europe. Russian viewers got acquainted with the novelty in 1894 on the stage of one of Moscow enterprises. Today "Hoffmann's Tales" are being performed at the KS Musical Theater in Moscow. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko (staged by A. Titel).

Long road to perfection

It is hard to believe, but Hoffmann's Tales, one of the most popular operas, exists only in various versions, their processing and distortions, and its final form remained unknown, having left this world with its creator. During the first 24 years of the stage fate of this work, Juliet’s act was never performed - before the premiere, Carvalho insisted on the complete removal of both his and all the opera recitations - primarily because it was very raw and unfinished material. The role of the Muse was also completely erased from the prologue, so for the viewer it remained a mystery who Niklaus really is. But understanding of Hoffmann's internal conflict between love and creativity (which symbolizes Muse-Niklaus) is the key to the meaning of the whole opera.

In 1905, Hans Gregor, who assumed the post of director of the Comic Opera in Berlin, decided to recreate Hoffmann's Tales in a five-act form, returning Juliet’s story. In 1907, the Schuden Music Publishing House released the first clavier of the opera, on the basis of which most subsequent productions were made. In the mid-20th century, the conductor Antonio de Almeida discovered the original opera documents, including the manuscripts of Offenbach and a copy of the libretto made for the censor. After studying these materials, the original intent of Offenbach became clearer. A new version of Hoffmann's Tales appeared, created in 1976 by the German musicologist Fritz Oeser, who did not solve all the questions, but significantly complemented the opera, in particular, by returning the full-fledged part of the Muse to it.

No less mysterious is the fate of the original libretto. Until the 1990s, the play by Barbiera and Carré itself was taken for the poetic basis of the opera, since no one knew what the full score looked like. In 1993 several hundred pages of the libretto manuscript were mysteriously found in one of the castles of Burgundy. A few years earlier, the original libretto was discovered in the Paris archives. The final act of the third act acquired new features: Juliet now did not swim away on the gondola with Dapertutto from the desperate Hoffmann, as it was performed earlier. Hoffman was forced to kill Pittika tacho, and Juliet’s reaction betrayed that the dwarf was her lover. A new finale of this act was shown at the premiere of the production in Hamburg in 1999.

Music "Hoffmann's Tales" in movies

“Barcarolle” is expectedly a favorite of filmmakers - her charming melody helps to create a mood in dozens of pictures, let's name some of them:

• “Long live Caesar!”, 2016
• "Midnight in Paris", 2011
• "Matrimony", 2007
• "Life is beautiful", 1997

"Tales of Hoffmann" were repeatedly recorded on video. Among the best screenings:

• Performance Covent Garden, 1981. Staged by B. Large, in major roles: P. Domingo, R. Lloyd, L. Serra, A. Balts, I. Cotrubas;
• Performance Opera de Paris, 2002. Statement by R. Carsen, in the main parts: N. Shikoff, B. Terfel, D. Rankatore, R.A. Svenson, B. Uria-Monzon.

"Tales of Hoffmann"- a landmark work for Offenbach. This story draws a line not only under the stories of its protagonist, but also under the life of its creator - full of hope and disappointment. The years of fame and creativity of the composer under the curtain gave way to a decade of harassment, monetary difficulties and loss of health. But it was out of these dramatic circumstances that such a unique opera grew.