Poster hoffmann 1
Vittorio Grigolo in the title role of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann."
Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Met Opera: Offenbach's 'Tales of Hoffmann'

This weekend, the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts "The Tales of Hoffmann," by Jacques Offenbach. Even if you're not an opera buff, the phrase "Tales of Hoffmann" may well have a familiar ring to it.

But who was Hoffmann? And what were the tales that he told? There was an actual Hoffmann — to give him his full name, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822). In German literature, he occupies an important place for his stories and novels, which deal with themes of the fantastic, the supernatural and the bizarre. Music critic Alex Ross has said that his final novel might be considered a post-modern tour de force, if it were to be published today. (It has two narrators, one of whom is a tomcat.)

Outside Germany, Hoffmann is primarily remembered on account of musical connections. Two of the most famous ballets derive from stories by Hoffmann: Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and Leo Delibes's Coppelia. Robert Schumann also commemorated one of Hoffmann's characters, the musician Johannes Kreisler, in his Kreisleriana suite.

And then there's today's opera.

In Offenbach's opera, Hoffmann is not only the source material, but the central character — an innovation not found in the original tales. Hoffmann and his drinking buddies gather in a tavern. He then tells them three stories, which make up the three acts of the opera. Each time, Hoffmann falls in love with a different woman, and is disappointed, but strives to remain true to himself and his poetic ideals.

Along the way, we hear abundant confirmation of Offenbach's ability to write a good tune — especially the famous Barcarolle, the most famous number in the opera. In the Met's production, Vittorio Grigolo will sing Hoffmann, and Thomas Hampson will portray all the "villains" who seem to cross Hoffmann's path through life. The roles of Hoffmann's lady loves call for very different vocal types; three different sopranos will play those characters.

Music, romance, and a whiff of the supernatural — this combination makes The Tales of Hoffmann a perennial audience favorite.

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