Tales of Hoffmann

[ironymaiden]

i woke yesterday to a strange tickling that told me to check the ticket drawer - a good move, since it alerted me to the fact that it was opera day (this is what happens when the season crosses purchase of a new calendar). i also discovered that i had missed my last Rep ticket :/

this is one i hadn't seen or listened to before. i enjoy seeing opera in French, since i'm fascinated by the supertitle process and how translation choices are made. the show opens with dancing wine and beer bottles (a combo of bunraku technique and cheezy blacklight) and travels a random path for an opera. it's funny, but i wouldn't call it a comedy. it's hero has a tragic flaw, but it doesn't fit the tragedy mold either. there's one hit aria at the top of Act III (but it doesn't have the one-hit suck of Madame Butterfly) and otherwise i wouldn't call the music memorable. i liked it. (shadowdaddy commented in passing that he found it boring, but i think we saw different casts.)

basically, Hoffmann is a talented, creative guy (writer/musician/raconteur) who has bad luck with women. is it luck? he's impulsive, he makes passionate choices, and he's deaf to the counsel of his wry and wise muse (sometimes a white-garbed woman, sometimes in the guise of a boy sidekick). the three acts are largely an alcohol-fueled reminiscence of three failures (a living doll, a doomed invalid, and a gold-digging 'ho'), framed by the story of a potential number four, who he ultimately avoids to return to creative pursuits. there are four totally random villains, but they're slightly pulled into some kind of connection by being cast with a single bass.

i swear the section with the doll, Olympia, either inspired part of Blade Runner or the director was influenced by it...there's a scientist who specializes in making eyes, and Olympia's maker seems to populate his lonely world with automatons. Olympia's "dad" turned out to be one of our neighbors - i periodically hear him singing, but i had assumed incorrectly that he was a hobbyist. i love this town.

Comments

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

I got pretty excited when I saw that Tales of Hoffman was going to be performed. When my mom was ten or so, she saw a movie version (I think it might have been this one (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006819/)), and was so struck by the film that she has talked about it many times. Because of that, it is like a fairytale of my childhood. One of the aspects of the movie was that the Muse was played by the same actress in each of the guises, and one actress also played the rolls of doll/invalid/'ho. You mention that the villains were one singer -- what about those roles?

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

Actually, after a little research, I think it was the 1951 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6302919754/104-9945228-5478366?v=glance)film version, and I have confused a few points.

[gyngersnap.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine saw Tales of Hoffman last night, too. She said it was just wonderful. I'm not really an opera lover, but I have been a few times and enjoyed it.

[shadowdaddy.livejournal.com]

The opening bit with the dancing beer bottles was a hoot, and Olympia's aria was outstanding - right up there in technical difficulty with the Queen of the Night from Magic Flute. But overall I did think the story was a little thin, and while the production was pleasant enough to watch, very little of the music did much for me, and I never felt much dramatic connection with any of the stories. I think my general distraction in Act III has colored my view, as well, since I did like the story in Act II.

I have to say I was intrigued by the Act I tie-in with the ballet Coppelia, and wondered if the other two acts were pulling from similar references that I just didn't get.