Tales of Hoffmann - Farce, Fantasy or Social Commentary

By -
Opera Colorado performed their second night of Tales of Hoffman last night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. It was a full house prepared to wile away the hours with an epic fantasy by Jacques Offenbach. Although the opera was not finished during his lifetime, he had spent seven years toiling over every detail, with numerous notes and sketches still being discovered. The result is a broad range of interpretations available as to what Offenbach really imaged in this romantic romp through the loves of E.T.A. Hoffman - based on a real poet, who wanted to be a musician but fell to the muse of poetry instead

Tales of Hoffmann is considered Offenbach’s masterpiece. It certainly has several great moments for the vocalists to shine. Katherine Rohrer starts with an aria about the muse (the role she plays) and delights the audience with poignancy and power. Throughout the performance she has the unenviable role of always being “second place.” Yet, the passion and emotional strength she transmits to the audience is amazing. Pamela Armstrong, a local favorite, astounded the audience with each of her roles as love interest in the opera. As Olympia her aria was comical and vocally spectacular. The audience gasped at Pamela’s command of the upper stratosphere. As Antonia, Pamela was able to express both longing for a lost loved one and yet fervor for a love newly blooming. With crystalline voice and command of the character, Pamela Armstrong provided a strong centerpiece for Hoffmann’s affections. Julian Gavin as Hoffmann and Gaétan Laperrière as his foil have several great moments in the music. Julian captured both the power of a man obsessed with finding love and the broken anxiety when it fails to materialize. Gaétan moved from character to character bringing to light a variety of adversaries. Both men did respectably well but never quite captured the emotional impact of the women. Matthew DiBattista played the role of Offenbach, which then became a variety of other roles as the story progresses. Matthew’s sense of comic timing and vocal flexibility is perfect for his role – definitely brighten the opera to offset some of the darker themes.

The production is a collaboration of Opera Colorado, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Boston Lyric Opera allowing the lavish sets and costumes to truly present the fantastical from the mind of Offenbach. There is no disappointment. The sets and costumes by André Barbe are imaginative and striking. From the well-to-do Dickensian chorus who arrives before the curtain goes up, to the automaton Olympia are a blend of class and color, the sets and costumes play a role, much more than stage dressing, as functionally part of the story.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the production was the orchestra, although that is perhaps as much a fault of the orchestration as anything. The final act was not orchestrated by Offenbach and many of the earlier moments are disputed as to what should and should not be used. Even with that, Offenbach is not noted for his orchestration. Unfortunately, the orchestra felt flat nearly lifeless at times, while other moments seemed to struggle to overcome the vocalists (not the role of an opera orchestra).

The overall interpretation Opera Colorado opted for was a blending of the world of Offenbach, obsessed with every sketch for his opera and that of the story of Hoffman. The concept works as Offenbach plays a character in the various acts, often in the role of farcical clown. This doesn’t diminish the artistry of his music, but rather shows the obsessive side to his nature which is what Tales of Hoffmann is all about. The first act is a fantasy where the love interest is a robot - glasses that make “her” seem perfect in the flesh to Hoffmann. The two scientists in this act have comical roles suggesting the opera is a farce.

However, in the second act the situation is all too real as the love interest is dying too soon, much like Mimi in La bohème. There is a comic scene for Offenbach (who is Franz the deaf butler), but for the most part the act is dark. Act three returns to the fictional world where Hoffmann’s reflection is stolen all for the sake of love. Unlike the first act, this is played more serious and supernatural. The Epilogue brings us back to the beginning and perhaps provides social commentary. But there wasn’t a clear path to it, nor did it feel as if there was a clear decision as to what the commentary should be, or whether the opera really wanted to a fantasy or a farce. In the end, this production is an examination into the imagination of Offenbach – and perhaps Hoffmann – cloudy yet controversial.

There are two more performances: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Visit Opera Colorado for more details and to purchase tickets.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more