'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' may not quite be one of my favourite operas of all-time, but it has Offenbach's magnificent music-especially Dappertutto's "Scintille Diamant", Olympia's Doll Song and the Barcarolle- interesting characters especially Nicklausse and the four villains and a very intriguing story structure.
This production is a revival of the wonderful 80s production directed by John Schlesinger, which can be seen in the 1981 Royal Opera House version with Placido Domingo as Hoffmann. To this day, that production is alongside the 1951 Powell and Pressburger film the best 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' available of a variable DVD competition. Some may criticise Schlesinger's production for showing its age, not to me. To me it's refreshing to see a beautifully designed, traditional, magical, fun and intelligent production that respects the opera's spirit and understands its drama in a opera world now rife with modern/concept productions. Which, with a fair share of exceptions, can be visually ugly and have staging touches that don't really do much with the concept, swamp the drama too much, are static, distasteful, at odds with the libretto or completely forget the spirit and drama of the opera, some even don't fare well musically.
While not as good as the production it's revived from, this is very much a worthy 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' that succeeds much more than it disappoints. It's not perfect. The many scene changes can hurt the momentum, the opera has a lot of zest and that is sometimes lost. Much more could have been done with the prologue, which does drag in pace and feels static and dull.
In the villain roles, Thomas Hampson is uneven. He is over-the-hill vocally, sounding fatigued, and dramatically he's inconsistent. He is most successful as Dr Miracle, a very sinister creation that is the stuff of nightmares, but he is particularly out-of-sorts and stiff as Lindorf.
However, the production still looks a wonderful treat. The sets are sumptuous and elaborate, it's atmospherically lit and the costumes are both sumptuous and imaginative. The staging is compelling on the most part, from the first act all the way through to the end the zesty charm, colourful fun, poignant pathos and dark psychology are evident and don't stop coming. There are no superfluous touches, nothing distasteful and the storytelling is always clear as are the character personalities and motivations.
Musically, the production captivates. The orchestra play with quite ravishing tone and also with much energy and sensitivity. The conducting is brisk, but lets the more intricate parts of the score like the Barcarolle breathe and showpieces like the Doll Song flourish. The chorus sing beautifully and seem engaged dramatically regardless of what has been thrown at them.
Excepting Hampson, the performances are pretty much spot on. Although not the most idiomatic (in language) or musical of Hoffmanns, Vittorio Grigolo however is very winning, he's charismatic with a warm glowing tenor voice and youthful vigour and there's no signs at all at over-playing the torment Hoffmann suffers over his lost loves.
Sofia Fomina takes on Olympia's vocal challenges with beauty of tone and technical effortless brilliance, the Doll's Song is a tour-De-force as it should be, and she is convincingly doll-like and a natural comedienne. Christine Rice is a sultry and sensual Giulietta, also sounding luminous. Sonya Yoncheva's Antonia is as magically moving as her Met Desdemona, vocally this is a perfect role for her and "Elle A Fui La Tourterelle" brings tears to the eyes.
Christophe Mortagne and Eric Halfvarson characterise with a huge amount of character. The performance of the production though is a terrific-looking (not in a while has men's clothing been worn so well by a woman on the opera stage) Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse, her warm creamy voice is musically and intelligently used and she captivates as an actress, capturing every single one of the character's numerous nuances and dimensions. Nicklausse ties 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' together in a way and coupled with Lindsey's performance is the most interesting character here.
Overall, mostly very impressive with a lot to like but the zest and momentum is not always there. 7/10 Bethany Cox
This production is a revival of the wonderful 80s production directed by John Schlesinger, which can be seen in the 1981 Royal Opera House version with Placido Domingo as Hoffmann. To this day, that production is alongside the 1951 Powell and Pressburger film the best 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' available of a variable DVD competition. Some may criticise Schlesinger's production for showing its age, not to me. To me it's refreshing to see a beautifully designed, traditional, magical, fun and intelligent production that respects the opera's spirit and understands its drama in a opera world now rife with modern/concept productions. Which, with a fair share of exceptions, can be visually ugly and have staging touches that don't really do much with the concept, swamp the drama too much, are static, distasteful, at odds with the libretto or completely forget the spirit and drama of the opera, some even don't fare well musically.
While not as good as the production it's revived from, this is very much a worthy 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' that succeeds much more than it disappoints. It's not perfect. The many scene changes can hurt the momentum, the opera has a lot of zest and that is sometimes lost. Much more could have been done with the prologue, which does drag in pace and feels static and dull.
In the villain roles, Thomas Hampson is uneven. He is over-the-hill vocally, sounding fatigued, and dramatically he's inconsistent. He is most successful as Dr Miracle, a very sinister creation that is the stuff of nightmares, but he is particularly out-of-sorts and stiff as Lindorf.
However, the production still looks a wonderful treat. The sets are sumptuous and elaborate, it's atmospherically lit and the costumes are both sumptuous and imaginative. The staging is compelling on the most part, from the first act all the way through to the end the zesty charm, colourful fun, poignant pathos and dark psychology are evident and don't stop coming. There are no superfluous touches, nothing distasteful and the storytelling is always clear as are the character personalities and motivations.
Musically, the production captivates. The orchestra play with quite ravishing tone and also with much energy and sensitivity. The conducting is brisk, but lets the more intricate parts of the score like the Barcarolle breathe and showpieces like the Doll Song flourish. The chorus sing beautifully and seem engaged dramatically regardless of what has been thrown at them.
Excepting Hampson, the performances are pretty much spot on. Although not the most idiomatic (in language) or musical of Hoffmanns, Vittorio Grigolo however is very winning, he's charismatic with a warm glowing tenor voice and youthful vigour and there's no signs at all at over-playing the torment Hoffmann suffers over his lost loves.
Sofia Fomina takes on Olympia's vocal challenges with beauty of tone and technical effortless brilliance, the Doll's Song is a tour-De-force as it should be, and she is convincingly doll-like and a natural comedienne. Christine Rice is a sultry and sensual Giulietta, also sounding luminous. Sonya Yoncheva's Antonia is as magically moving as her Met Desdemona, vocally this is a perfect role for her and "Elle A Fui La Tourterelle" brings tears to the eyes.
Christophe Mortagne and Eric Halfvarson characterise with a huge amount of character. The performance of the production though is a terrific-looking (not in a while has men's clothing been worn so well by a woman on the opera stage) Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse, her warm creamy voice is musically and intelligently used and she captivates as an actress, capturing every single one of the character's numerous nuances and dimensions. Nicklausse ties 'Les Contes D'Hoffmann' together in a way and coupled with Lindsey's performance is the most interesting character here.
Overall, mostly very impressive with a lot to like but the zest and momentum is not always there. 7/10 Bethany Cox
