# Tales of Hoffmann



## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

In a previous post ("So Predictable") I said this about the Met's 2009 production of Tales of Hoffmann: 

"that show was really quite ... amazing ... I mean, Offenbach was a friggin' genius, and Bartlett Sher is a genius right now. Part of what helped him pull it off, I'm sure, is that ToH is traditionally much more malleable than most other operas - you wouldn't catch any one saying, hey, let's have the funeral pyre scene in Norma BEFORE she catches Pollione in the women's quarters ... and it's not just that it wouldn't make sense; it's just not done. The point is, you can do a lot with ToH that you can't do with other operas. And the way he or they worked it is Giulietta was the third episode, and they split up Klein Zack so the last verse comes at the end, after Hoffmann has murdered his rival. Now Klein Zack refers to Hoffmann, and is kind of an expression of understanding of who he is (le monstre, le monstre). Follow that with the amazing ? sextet (not sure how many sing in it) about how much better poetry is than love (lol) and it's just an ever-increasing series of blows to the heart that are pretty unforgettable. I went to every performance of the comparatively starless version they did the very next season and it was WONDERFUL. Kate Lindsey. Ildar Abdrazakov. Giuseppe Filianoti (I think)."

I went to see the Met's re-broadcast in movie theaters last night and it was a little different - not just different from seeing it in the opera house, but different from how I remembered it. The most important difference was, they didn't put the "le monstre" verse of Klein Zack at the end - they came up with a FOURTH verse from somewhere and stuck THAT in at the end.

In the movie theater it just wasn't as effective as it had been in the opera house, unfortunately. In spite of the fact that the cast was much better for this than for the run I spent so much time at - Calleja vs. Filianoti, Held vs. Abdrazakov, Netrebko vs. Gerzmava, Kim vs. I don't even remember who - you just miss an awful lot, with this opera, in the movie setting. It's really a STAGE production. That's not true of all operas - Iphigenie en Tauride was, for me, much more effective in the movie theater - and I'm sure it's not true of all productions of this opera, but for this production the stage is pretty important. There's a lot going on, that the camera just can't show you all at once. Continuity suffers. Context suffers. Sheer stage presence disappears completely.

Now, the performances last night were WONDERFUL. Kathleen Kim was GREAT as Olympia. Anna Netrebko was GREAT as Antonia and Stella. Alan Held as the four villains was GREAT. Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse gave the performance of her CAREER. (I'm in love with Kate Lindsey. Those great big tender brown eyes, that see all, and understand, and forgive! OMG). I'm not even sorry Rene Pape dropped out. Joseph Calleja - well, I can't say he was great. He was pretty good, but the sound was so loud in the theater that he didn't come through quite as well as I'd remembered him. Bit staticky. He kind of takes over a stage, in person. On camera - not so much.

But what I'd forgotten about the whole thing was how much music was in it that isn't in any other production of Tales of Hoffmann that I have. Nicklausse's aria in this one, "assisting" Hoffmann in wooing Olympia - not on any other recordings I have. I prefer this one to, for example, the weirdly unmusical aria Mildred Miller sings in the same spot on the Richard Tucker/Roberta Peters/Martial Singher CD ... but where did they get it? The fourth verse of Klein Zack, as mentioned above. Nicklausse has a LOT of music in the Antonia segment, that I don't remember hearing anywhere else. It's nice music ... but is it Offenbach? Inquiring minds would like to know.

It did get to me, at the end. Everyone does something different, in the fight with Schlemil. On the di Scola/Raimondi version, Hoffmann stabs the guy in the back, as Nicklausse covers her face in shame. In the Shicoff/Terfel version, Terfel sets it up so Schlemil has a plastic sword, while Hoffmann's is real. In this one, the duel is fair, the swords are real ... and then, after the first effective blow, after Schlemil falls to the ground, Hoffmann steps over and cuts his throat. Brutal, and effective. Then as Hoffmann places the cape around his own shoulders, admitting to himself and everyone else what a dwarf he really is ... no one else has that. Gets to me now, honestly. What a show.

Well, and tonight it's the Paris Opera Ballet, with "20th Century Masterpieces," whatever that means. Well, here's the schedule, from the Lincoln Center Festival website: 

"Suite en Blanc:*Marie-Solenne Boulet,*Sarah Kora Dayanova,*Laura Hecquet*(la Sieste),Émilie Cozette,*Christophe Duquenne,*Nicolas Paul*(Thème varié),*Amandine Albisson*(la Sérénade),*Alice Renavand*(Pas de cinq),*Emilie Cozette*(la Cigarette),*Karl Paquette*(la Mazurka),*Aurélie Dupont,*Mathieu Ganio*(l’Adage),*Dorothée Gilbert*(la Flûte).
L’Arlésienne:*Nolwenn Daniel,*Benjamin Pech
Boléro:*Marie-Agnès Gillot"

We'll see. I'm hoping for great things.


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