The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide by Canadian Opera Company

The Tales of Hoffmann JACQUES OFFENBACH (1819 – 1880)

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Table of Contents Welcome........................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Tales of Hoffmann: Characters and Synopsis.......................................................................... 4 The Tales of Hoffmann: Composer and Librettist Biographies................................................. 6 The Tales of Hoffmann: Opera at a Glance........................................................................................ 7 The Tales of Hoffmann: Listening Guide............................................................................................ 8 The Tales of Hoffmann: What to Look for.......................................................................................... 14 Credits............................................................................................................................................................... 16

Cover: The COC presents The Tales of Hoffmann. Stephanie Houtzeel as Nicklausse in a scene from the Vlaamse Opera production, 2000. Photo: Kurt Van der Elst.

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

Welcome

“An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I’ve left the opera house.”

Dear Educators and Students, Opera can move us, it can excite us. It’s a tool for learning about ourselves and those around us. The study of opera opens doors to new cultures, languages, artistic and literary forms, important events in history, music and so much more. To help you discover the beauty, significance and thrill of opera, the COC has designed accessible Study Guides. Each Study Guide introduces you to the key figures involved in the creation of an opera, and deepens your understanding of its characters and story. Is listening to an opera intimidating for you or your students? Not to worry. We’ve highlighted composers’ musical techniques in easy-to-follow Listening Guides. Not sure if you’re going to understand the staging? We’ve got that covered for you too. The What to Look For articles explain the creative team’s concept, key points of inspiration for their adaptation of the piece and visual elements to look for on stage. Use these Study Guides as the basis for stimulating

Maria Callas, renowned Greek-American soprano

and thought-provoking discussions before, during or after your visit to the opera. I welcome you into the Canadian Opera Company community and encourage you to actively engage in the opera experience long before and after the curtain falls. Katherine Semcesen Associate Director, Education and Outreach

Below: Gerard Powers as Hoffmann (right, foreground) in a scene from the Vlaamse Opera production, 2000. Photo: Kurt Van der Elst

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The Tales of Hoffmann: Characters and Synopsis MAIN CHARACTERS Name Hoffmann The Muse Nicklausse Lindorf Stella Andrès Spalanzani Cochenille Coppélius Olympia Antonia Crespel Frantz Dr. Miracle Giulietta Schlémil Dapertutto Pitichinaccio Hermann Wolfram Wilhelm Luther Nathanaël

Description Poet Hoffmann’s poetic inspiration Student, Hoffmann’s close friend and the personification of the Muse

Voice Type Tenor Mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano

Powerful local politician Prima donna (opera singer) Stella’s servant Eccentric inventor Spalanzani’s servant Maker of gadgets, especially artificial eyes Mechanical doll Young singer Violinmaker, Antonia’s father Crespel’s old servant Physician Prostitute In love with Giulietta Magician Giulietta’s servant A student A student A student Innkeeper A student

Bass-baritone LIN-dorf Soprano STEL-uh Tenor ahn-DRES Tenor spah-lan-DZAH-nee Tenor co-shuh-NEEL Bass-baritone coh-PEHL-lee-yus Soprano uh-LIM-pee-uh Soprano an-TOH-nee-uh Bass kre-SPELL Tenor fr-AHNTZ Bass-baritone Soprano djoo-lee-YET-tah Bass SHLEH-meel Bass-baritone dah-pehr-TOOT-toh Tenor pee-tee-kee-NAH-choh Baritone HER-man Baritone WOOL-fruhm Baritone VIL-helm Baritone LOO-ther Baritone nuh-THAN-ee-uhl

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Pronunciation HOFF-mahn nik-CLOWSS

The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

SYNOPSIS PROLOGUE A tavern in Nuremberg The poet Hoffmann is in love with Stella. His Muse is jealous of her and calls on the spirits of drink to assist in banishing Stella’s influence. The Muse assumes the guise of Nicklausse – Hoffmann’s most faithful companion. Hoffmann’s rival for Stella’s affection, Lindorf, arrives. He intends to take Stella, now an opera singer, for his own. Giving himself to drink, Hoffmann is persuaded to sing a drinking song about the dwarf Kleinzach. During the song, Hoffmann’s mind wanders back to the beauty of Stella. Hoffmann can’t shake the idea of Stella and begins to tell the story of how she is all the women he has loved in one.

Hoffmann has tracked Antonia down and the lovers are reunited. Antonia explains she is no longer permitted to sing but doesn’t know why. She leaves in a hurry as Crespel returns. Hoffmann hides determined to solve the mystery. Dr. Miracle arrives to examine Antonia, much to the dismay of Crespel who firmly believes the doctor’s treatment to be the cause of his wife’s death. Dr. Miracle tempts the young girl with fantasies of the world of song she is about to abandon, and brings life to the portrait of her mother who encourages Antonia to sing. Thrilled at her mother’s voice, Antonia sings higher and higher with increasing excitement until she collapses. Hoffmann returns too late to save his dying second love.

He tells the story of the first... ACT I – Olympia Paris In his salon workshop, the inventor Spalanzani is excited at the wealth he’s to acquire through the sale of his latest invention: the mechanical doll, Olympia. He’s concerned that the maker of the doll’s eyes, Coppélius, may lay claim to a percentage of the profits. Hoffmann becomes a pupil of Spalanzani in order to be nearer to Olympia, whom he takes for the inventor’s own daughter. Coppélius arrives and sells Hoffmann a pair of spectacles which enhance the doll’s beauty. Once the other guests have arrived, Olympia is presented and sings, much to the delight of the crowd. As the guests depart for supper, Hoffmann seizes the opportunity to declare his love. Everything seems fine for him until Olympia’s mechanism malfunctions and she appears to flee from him. The swindled Coppélius, who has been given a worthless cheque, returns to take revenge on Spalanzani. Enraged, he rips the doll apart as Hoffmann, his glasses now broken, realizes the awful truth. ACT II – Antonia Munich The councillor Crespel has removed his daughter, Antonia, to a secret address in Munich in order to keep her away from her fiancé, Hoffmann. Realizing that Antonia has inherited her mother’s mysterious and fatal condition, which is aggravated by singing, Crespel keeps her hidden, believing Hoffmann’s presence would encourage her to sing. He tells his old, deaf retainer to bar the doors.

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ACT III – Giulietta Venice Relaxing near a Venetian canal, Nicklausse sings of the beauty of the night and is joined in song by the courtesan Giulietta, arriving on a gondola. Hoffmann declares he is through with love and is now devoting himself to pleasure. Giulietta introduces Hoffmann to her present love, the jealous Schlémil, and invites them all into the gaming room. The sorcerer Dapertutto arrives and encourages Giulietta, with her magical eyes, to steal Hoffmann’s reflection and, with it, his soul. Upon obtaining Hoffmann’s image, Dapertutto taunts him and the poet sinks deeper into despair. As Giulietta boards her gondola, Schlémil and Hoffmann fight over the key to Giulietta’s room. Schlémil is killed and Hoffmann frantically searches for Giulietta until, horrified, he sees her in a gondola drifting away with Pitichinaccio in her arms. EPILOGUE Nuremberg Drunk, Hoffmann asserts that the three stories are different aspects of one woman, Stella. To Lindorf and Stella, Hoffmann is a drunkard and a poor rival for the singer’s affection. Hoffmann doesn’t recognize Stella in his inebriated state and he collapses to the floor, unconscious. Stella and Lindorf depart leaving only the Muse with Hoffmann. His Muse reassures him: his suffering will lead to true artistic fulfillment.

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The Tales of Hoffmann: Composer and Librettist Biographies COMPOSER BIOGRAPHY Jacques Offenbach (1819 – 1880) Jacques Offenbach was born in Cologne, Germany on June 20, 1819. His father earned a living as a bookbinder, but also as a composer, a cantor, and a music teacher, so it is no surprise that Offenbach began studying music early. After initially focusing on the violin, he turned to the cello when he was nine. In 1833, at the age of 14, Offenbach was sent with his brother to study music at the Conservatoire in Paris. He left after only a year, due mostly to financial hardship, and soon gained work playing the cello in the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique, a Parisian opera company, where he remained while continuing part-time studies until 1838. During these years Offenbach was building a career as a cello virtuoso, playing with such talents as Anton Rubinstein and Franz Liszt. In 1844 he converted from Judaism to Catholicism and married Herminie d’Alcain. Even after being appointed conductor of the ThéâtreFrançais in 1850, Offenbach could not get his songs or operettas performed. He finally rented his own theatrical space and opened the Bouffes-Parisien on July 5, 1855, with a program of his short, comic pieces. Success meant that Offenbach could resign his position at Théâtre-Français, move his enterprise to a larger space and begin the most rewarding phase of his career. In 1860, Offenbach acquired French citizenship (personally granted by Emperor Napoleon III); in 1861 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur; and, in 1862 he resigned as director of the Bouffes-Parisien to focus solely on composition.

After his return to Paris, he concentrated on composing The Tales of Hoffmann, the work by which he meant to achieve recognition as a composer of “real opera.” But his health deteriorated during rehearsals, with gout weakening his heart. He died on October 5, 1880, and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. He left the score for The Tales of Hoffmann unfinished, but his friend Ernest Guiraud completed the score. The opera, Offenbach’s masterpiece, had its premiere in 1881 at the OpéraComique. LIBRETTIST BIOGRAPHY Jules Barbier (1825 – 1901) Born on March 8, 1825 in Paris, France, librettist Jules Barbier began his career while still a teenager, writing short comic plays for Parisian theatres. Soon he moved on to more substantial projects and, over the course of his career as a librettist, would collaborate with the most prominent French composers of his time. Collaborating with writer Michel Carré, Barbier produced the librettos for Gounod’s Faust (1859) and Roméo et Juliette (1867), along with Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868) for Ambroise Thomas. Individually, he wrote the libretto for Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann (1881). Considered a man of his time, with a keen understanding of his audience’s tastes, he died in Paris on January 16, 1901.

Offenbach wrote nearly 100 operettas in his lifetime, and his lasting triumphs from this period include Orphée aux enfers (1858), La belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868). In 1873, Offenbach took on the management of another theatre, but suffered terrible financial losses. In 1876 a tour to the U.S. garnered him acclaim and enough money to offset his losses.

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The Tales of Hoffmann: Opera at a Glance AUDIENCE RECEPTION: The Tales of Hoffmann was initially a big success. In terms of international popularity the opera suffered some setbacks when a fire at a Viennese Ringtheater performance on December 8, 1881 saddled the piece with a macabre reputation for bad luck. Still, by the early 20th century Hoffmann was enjoying a favourable reputation and plenty of performances. Today it is in the top 30 of the most frequently performed operas in the world.

SOURCE MATERIAL: The libretto is based on a play by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré called Les contes fantastiques d’Hoffmann (1851), which was itself based on the short stories of German author E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776 – 1822).

PREMIERE: February 10, 1881 at the OpéraComique, Paris, France

GENESIS OF THE OPERA: Offenbach had to make fundamental changes to the opera no less than three times. This is because he needed financial backers to stage the piece and, as one theatre went bankrupt and another stepped in to produce the opera, Offenbach had to agree to meet each successive theatre’s particular demands and constraints. Imagine having to start an assignment for one teacher and, halfway through, needing to modify it to meet another teacher’s totally different set of requirements and expectations. No wonder it took Offenbach nearly six years to LANGUAGE: finish! French VERSION PERFORMED BY LENGTH OF COC: PERFORMANCE: The opera is a Three hours and 15 production from minutes with two Vlaamse Opera, intermissions Belgium.

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The Tales of Hoffmann: Listening Guide Most of Jacques Offenbach’s works are in the opéracomique genre (“comic opera,” or opéra-bouffes, or operetta), light operas which usually featured spoken dialogue. Just a sampling of the ones that are still regularly performed today are Orpheus in the Underworld (1858) – which features his famous “Galop Infernal,” known to us as the “Can-Can” – La belle Hélène (1864), La vie Parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868). Offenbach’s works and the popularity they enjoyed at home and abroad paved the way for such composers as Johann Strauss II (the COC is performing his wonderful operetta Die Fledermaus next season), and Sir Arthur Sullivan, of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Yet Offenbach wanted to gain recognition with a serious opera, something that would elevate him above being just a composer of light and fluffy entertainment. He envisioned that The Tales of Hoffmann would be the piece to do it. He turned out to be right, though he did not live to see the triumphant opening night in Paris at the OpéraComique and the subsequent 101 performances staged over the remainder of the theatre’s season. Offenbach died four months before the premiere, leaving an unfinished score. His friend Ernest Guiraud was called in to complete the opera, but the opera’s compositional history did not end there. A fire in 1887 at the Opéra-Comique destroyed important original fragments of the score and it has been an unending challenge for musicologists over the subsequent years to piece together an “authentic” version of The Tales of Hoffmann. A highly successful 1905 Berlin production – with added musical pieces written neither by Offenbach nor by Guiraud – solidified the opera’s reputation internationally. Since then a dizzying number of cuts and versions of The Tales of Hoffmann have proliferated.

This listening guide is based on the recording The Tales of Hoffmann, Decca 417 363-2. L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, under Richard Bonynge, conductor. With Plácido Domingo, Joan Sutherland, Gabriel Bacquier, Huguette Tourangeau. 1972 studio recording.

The opera remains a work of endless fascination. Its romantic and supernatural themes are ripe for analysis and interpretation, while the score is packed with lush, dramatic melodies that are among the most popular in the operatic world.

Please note: While the information in the guide corresponds to the recording, there are a few discrepancies between Richard Bonynge’s version and the version the COC is staging this spring. Most of these are of minor consequence and will not impede enjoyment of either the recording or the live performance.

Above: The COC presents The Tales of Hoffmann. (l – r) Stephanie Houtzeel as Nicklausse and Gerard Powers as Hoffmann in the Vlaamse Opera production, 2000. Photo: Kurt Van der Elst

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

MUSICAL EXCERPT #1 Aria (solo), the Story of Kleinzach: “Il était une fois à la cour d’Eisenach” (“Once upon a time at the court of Eisenach”) Connection to the Story: Hoffmann has come to Luther’s tavern in Nuremberg, accompanied by a crowd of students. They urge him to tell the story of Kleinzach, a deformed dwarf at the court of Eisenach. He sings it to them, temporarily interrupting the story as his mind wanders to the memory of his first love. Musical Elements and Significance: The role of Hoffmann was originally meant for a baritone, but – with a change of venue and cast – Offenbach rewrote it for a tenor. The melody for “Kleinzach” was borrowed by Offenbach from an earlier work of his, Le roi Carotte (King Carrot). It’s an ideal drinking song, with its bouncy rhythm and repeated phrases courtesy of the enthusiastic students. The rhymes are built around the “ack” sound: “Kleinzach... Eisenach... estomac... sac,” and finally the sound that Kleinzach’s head makes, “cric crac!” (1:13). Partway through the song, Hoffmann suddenly goes into a sort of daydream (1:45) and the mood changes entirely. He recalls his innocent memories of first love for a beautiful young girl. It’s a romantic melody of powerful nostalgic yearning, which reaches its climax at 3:50.The students interrupt his reverie (4:00) and he shakes off his mood, concluding the song of Kleinzach in a boisterous fashion, accompanied by the students. Further Reflection: Hoffmann goes from singing a silly song with his friends one minute, to being lost in the memory of something completely different the next. Is the music successful in illustrating the shift in Hoffmann’s mood? Has something like this happened to you, where you might be telling a funny story to your friends, and suddenly another thought enters your mind that might make you feel reflective or sad? Is there meaning for you in the contrast between the bizarre Kleinzach and the beautiful object of Hoffmann’s reverie?

MUSICAL EXCERPT #2 Aria, Doll Song: “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” (“The birds in the hedgerows”) Connection to the Story: In the first of Hoffmann’s tales, we witness his infatuation with the young Olympia. Unknown to Hoffmann, she is, in fact, a mechanical, life-sized doll, the creation of the inventor Spalanzani. Olympia is introduced to a group of Spalanzani’s friends at a party given in her honour. Spalanzani refers to her as his daughter and bids her to sing this song to his friends. Musical Elements and Significance: The song itself is about a young woman who hears love in all the sounds around her, and it features a simple, charming melody. The birds mentioned in the first line of the song prompt Olympia’s own style of singing, full of trills (0:54) and chirps. In its extreme girlishness, the piece is somewhat reminiscent of the style of a Disney heroine, such as Snow White. The aria is introduced by the flute, with Olympia taking over the melody (0:10), singing the first verse flawlessly until her huge glissando (slide from one pitch to another) from a high note to a low note, musically signifying that her mechanism is winding down (1:40). After Spalanzani manages to wind her back up, she completes the verse to the delight of the assembled guests and starts another verse even more brilliantly and with more ornamentation (2:35), with another wind-down/wind-up moment shortly thereafter [4:01 to 4:17].

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

This famous coloratura (from the Italian for “colouring,” which refers to very elaborate singing) aria for soprano was composed to demonstrate the mechanical nature of the character. The soprano who sings this role has to be certain not to infuse her performance with too much humanity or personality. In fact, it’s quite a challenge to sing the entire, brilliant, show-stopping piece with the clean and unemotional delivery of a wind-up mechanism. Further Reflection: Olympia is nothing more than a mechanical doll who sings a song of no real substance. What does it reveal about Hoffmann that he should be so infatuated with her?

MUSICAL EXCERPT #3 Trio: “Ma mére!... ô ma mére!” (“My mother!... oh my mother!”) Connection to the Story: The second tale tells of Hoffmann’s doomed love for the sweet Antonia. Crespel, her father, suspects the sinister Dr. Miracle of being responsible for his wife’s death. His daughter is also a singer, and of fragile health. Crespel and Hoffmann (who is secretly engaged to her) both know that if Antonia sings, she risks dying. When Crespel leaves the house, Dr. Miracle sneaks in and conjures for Antonia the voice of her dead mother. He urges the young Antonia to sing with the full force of her vocal talent, until she collapses and dies. Musical Elements and Significance: This thrillingly dramatic trio has the supernatural addition of a voice from the dead. Antonia’s prayers for salvation from Dr. Miracle, and from her own impulse to sing, shift to pleading with her dead mother (3:55) as Antonia declares that she loves Hoffmann. Dr. Miracle menacingly approaches, accompanied by appropriately dark chords in the orchestra (4:21). He exhorts Antonia not to sacrifice her talent and her voice. Then he conjures up the voice of Antonia’s dead mother with a shimmering and eerie sound from the string section (4:50). With the words “Chère enfant” (“Dear child”), Antonia’s mother provides the main melody of the trio (5:15). Antonia joins in, her voice rising in ecstasy, while the sinister Dr. Miracle sings in dark, low complementary tones. For this recording, listen to the fantastic, demonic laughter of the great French baritone Gabriel Bacquier as Dr. Miracle (7:23 and at the end, 9:13). The melody of this trio, repeated at (7:12) is from an earlier work by Offenbach called Fantasio (1872). Further Reflection: Antonia is torn between her love for Hoffmann, her father and life itself. What do you think drives her to finally indulge in the singing that she knows is so dangerous for her?

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

MUSICAL EXCERPT #4 Barcarolle*: “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” (“Beautiful night, o night of love”) Connection to the Story: The third tale is of Giulietta the courtesan, and it takes place in Venice. As the act opens, Nicklausse and Giulietta sing of a delicious night of love. Musical Elements and Significance: This barcarolle is one of the world’s most popular melodies. Offenbach borrowed it from an earlier work of his, Die Rheinnixen (1864). The gentle, undulating rhythm was originally supposed to conjure the flowing Rhine River, however, in The Tales of Hoffmann, the action takes place in Venice. The strings and harp conjure up the water of Venetian canals. After a slow, sensual introduction by the flutes, in which the mystery and magic of a moonlit evening is beautifully evoked, the two women’s voices (starting at 1:23) blend softly in harmony. Giulietta the courtesan is sung by a soprano. Nicklausse is a “pants role,” meaning that a male character is sung by a woman, in this case a mezzo-soprano, which is a lower voice type than a soprano. Further Reflection: The music perfectly represents a calm and gentle waterway. What sort of music might be used to represent different watery settings, such as a storm at sea, or waves crashing on a shoreline?

FUN FACT* The barcarolle is a piece sung traditionally by gondoliers in Venice. The word originates in the 18th century with the Venetian Italian word, barcarola (“boatman’s song”) which itself derives from barca, Italian for “boat.”

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

MUSICAL EXCERPT #5 Quartet (though traditionally presented as a septet – a piece for six singers and the chorus): “Adieu, je ne veux pas te suivre” (“Farewell, I do not want to follow you”) Connection to the Story: Urged on by Dapertutto and his gift of a stunning diamond ring, Giulietta has seduced Hoffmann and stolen his reflection to give to Dapertutto. In despair, Hoffmann expresses his love and loss as the other characters in the tale weigh in with their own opinions of his situation. Musical Elements and Significance: Here we have a concrete example of the changeability of the Hoffmann score. In the recording, the septet has been remodelled as a quartet and set in the epilogue of the opera instead of its more common placement at the end of Giulietta’s tale. The reason this can vary is that the septet wasn’t in the Offenbach score that Ernest Guiraud completed for the opening night. The septet is an addition made by impresario Raoul Gunsbourg (who was collaborating with the original librettist’s son, Pierre Barbier!) for a 1904 production in Monte Carlo. Hoffmann begins the septet, dismayed by his own weakness and love for Giulietta. One by one, the other parts enter: Dapertutto at 0:42, Giulietta at 1:21, etc., until Nicklausse, Schlémil, Pitichinaccio and the chorus are all together, singing an unforgettable melody in which the musical motif (theme) of the earlier barcarolle recurs. Further Reflection: In a play, it’s rare to have more than one person speaking at once, as it’s hard to make out what is being said. However, in an opera, where the basis is music, it is not uncommon for many different characters to sing different lines of music at once. How can the sentiments of each character be expressed clearly when more than one singer is singing at the same time?

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The COC presents The Tales of Hoffmann. Gerard Powers as Hoffmann in the Vlaamse Opera production, 2000. Photo: Kurt Van der Elst

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The Tales of Hoffmann: What to Look for So much thought goes into the staging of an opera. Lighting, sets, props, costumes, characterization, movement and gesture have a vital role to play in telling the story. So while your ears are enchanted by the expressive score, here are some important production insights that will help you appreciate and interpret what you see on stage:

THE CONCEPT

THE THREE WOMEN

Director Lee Blakeley has chosen to set this opera during the Romantic Period, which signifies a historical time frame (late-18th and early-19th centuries), as well as some specific intellectual and artistic outlooks. Broadly speaking, the Romantic sensibility is one that reacted against a scientific, highly rationalistic worldview. The Romantics prized raw emotion, intuition and imagination over the demands of reason. (A Romantic, for example, would never get married out of pragmatic considerations.)

This production also focuses on the complex role that women play in relation to the Romantic male artist. For most of the opera Hoffmann is imagining his interactions with three women who are creations of his own mind – Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta. These represent different female archetypes (virgin/wife/prostitute) that are fictionalizations of his real-life girlfriend, Stella. Hoffmann is seen writing about his lost loves throughout the opera and we get to witness the results of his creative work as they are brought to life onstage. Bearing this in mind, consider how each of the three women is depicted and what this tells us about Hoffmann’s relationship to Stella. Why does each of his imagined dalliances end in despair and disappointment? Remember that since Hoffmann is imagining these events, their details reveal a lot about his mental state and his desires.

Much of what Western European society in the 1800s would consider to be “civilization” and “progress,” a Romantic would treat with suspicion. This distrust of social institutions – and their potential to corrupt the natural and authentic qualities of humankind – was famously articulated by the French philosopher JeanJacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) who pronounced, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Instead of living by accepted social norms and according to accepted social practices, Romantics found it necessary to pursue beauty and freedom through a Bohemian lifestyle that was often stigmatized as immoral. In the case of the character of Hoffmann, this lifestyle includes alcohol abuse, obsession and drunken fantasy. In what ways is Hoffmann’s artistic creativity and imagination shown to be Romantic in this opera? What other aspects of the Romantic imagination can you identify in this production?

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

SETS AND COSTUMES

THE CAST

The costumes are generally faithful to continental European dress of the early 1800s but they occasionally feature elements that emphasize the fantastical aspect of the events unfolding onstage. In this regard, take note of how important props from the miniature version of a home interior seen at the beginning reappear throughout the opera in giant sizes disproportionate to their real dimensions. What effect do these alterations of space, size and reality achieve? What are some other ways in which reality is distorted in this production (e.g. hair, makeup, costume, lighting, etc.)? To what end?

Some productions of The Tales of Hoffmann cast one soprano to portray all four of the main female roles (Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta and Stella). The reason for this is to make it clearer that Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta are different aspects of the same person: Stella. Our production, however, features four different singers for each of the roles. What are the pros and cons of casting the same person for all four parts? On the other hand, the male role of the four villains is almost always portrayed by one singer. Why do you think this is? How does this affect your interpretation of the characters? CONCLUSION OF THE OPERA What does the ending tell you about Hoffmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Romantic outlook? Does his pursuit of the Romantic ideal make him unable to recognize that Stella represents so much of what he wants? Have you ever searched for that ideal love, only to realize he/she was in front of you all along?

The COC presents The Tales of Hoffmann. A scene from the Vlaamse Opera production, 2000. Photo: Kurt Van der Elst.

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide

The COC offers a wide variety of school programs for Kindergarten to Grade 12. To find out more, visit our website at coc.ca/Explore or contact: Education & Outreach Canadian Opera Company Tel: 416-306-2392 Fax: 416-363-5584 education@coc.ca The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide editors: Katherine Semcesen, Associate Director, Education and Outreach; Nikita Gourski, Development Communications Assistant; Amanda Hadi, Communications Assistant; Suzanne Vanstone, Senior Communications Manager, Editorial; Gianna Wichelow, Senior Communications Manager, Creative; Carly Anderson, Children & Youth Programs, Manager; Vanessa Smith, School Programs Manager. The COC Gratefully Acknowledges:

Charitable Registration Number: 11883 4829 RR0001

Above: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Photo: Sam Javanrouh

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The Tales of Hoffmann Study Guide