The Tales of Hoffmann

The Tales of Hoffmann, opera by German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, the latter of whom was a coauthor of the play of the same name, from which the opera was derived. The opera premiered in Paris on February 10, 1881. It was the last and easily the most serious of the many Offenbach operas. Its premiere came posthumously. Left unfinished at Offenbach’s death, the work was completed by the composer’s colleagues. The opera is perhaps best known for its barcarolle “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour,” originally a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano, though often heard in instrumental transcriptions.

Background and context

Like the play, the opera is based on three of the psychologically complicated and fantastic stories of the German Romantic author and composer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Those stories are “Der Sandmann” (“The Sandman”), “Rath Krespel” (“Councillor Krespel”; Eng. trans. “The Cremona Violin”), and “Die Geschichte vom verlorenen Spiegelbilde” (“The Story of the Lost Reflection”). The opera was intended for the 1877–78 season at Paris’s Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique, though Offenbach missed the deadline by a large margin. When he died in 1880, he had not yet finished its last acts. Determined to bring the work to the stage, the theatre’s managers brought in composer Ernest Guiraud to finish the opera in time for its long-delayed premiere. Further revisions followed.

The Tales of Hoffmann has no “official” version. Among the points of debate among music historians are Offenbach’s intentions regarding sung recitatives versus spoken dialogue. Even the order of the opera’s acts has been varied. The opera opens and closes with scenes of Hoffmann’s obsession with Stella, an opera singer. In between are visions of his passions for three other women. Offenbach’s original plan was that those three acts would serve as a kind of spiritual journey from youthful infatuation (the Olympia act) through mature love (the Antonia act) to the indulgences of an idle wastrel (the Giulietta act). In contemporary performance, however, the second and third acts are sometimes switched. Further, some companies label the Prologue as Act I and renumber the succeeding acts accordingly. The structure shown in the synopsis below is one of several variations.

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Given the debate, not only opera directors but also conductors and musicologists have taken on the task of reimagining Hoffmann. Numerous alternate versions exist, each with its own advocates. One particularly notable version was crafted by American musicologist Michael Kaye, who, in studying Offenbach’s original drafts, restored music for the muse Nicklausse and expanded the Giulietta act, increasing its dramatic impact. For musicological and theatrical reasons, those and other changes that Kaye suggests attracted a strong following, and it may yet become the standard version of Hoffmann.

Also problematic is the number of singers required for the principal roles. In each act, the leading tenor is the character of Hoffmann. However, the principal baritone is named Lindorf, Coppélius, Dr. Miracle, or Dapertutto, depending on the scene at hand. The featured soprano may take the role of each of Hoffmann’s loves—Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, and Stella—in turn. Evidence reveals that Offenbach intended one soprano to perform all the roles and one baritone as well, so as to clarify the notion that those different characters are different aspects of a single personality. Baritones have not protested, as their four roles resemble each other in music style. The four soprano roles, however, make quite different demands upon the voice—from light coloratura to intense drama—so it requires an exceptional soprano to take on all roles.

Cast and vocal parts

• The Muse/Nicklausse, Hoffmann’s poetic muse, disguised as his friend (mezzo-soprano)
• Councillor Lindorf (bass or baritone)
• Andrès, Stella’s servant (tenor)
• Luther, a tavern-keeper (bass or baritone)
• Nathanaël, a student (tenor)
• Herrmann, a student (bass or baritone)
• Hoffmann, a poet (tenor)
• Spalanzani, an inventor (tenor)
• Cochenille, his servant (tenor)
• Coppélius, an evil scientist (bass or baritone)
• Olympia, a life-sized doll (soprano)
• Giulietta, a Venetian courtesan (soprano)
• Schlémil, her lover (bass or baritone)
• Pittichinaccio, a dwarf (tenor)
• Dapertutto, an evil magician (bass or baritone)
• Antonia, a young singer (soprano)
• Crespel, her father (bass or baritone)
• Frantz, his servant (tenor)
• Dr. Miracle, a charlatan (bass or baritone)
• Voice of Antonia’s Mother (soprano or mezzo-soprano)
• Stella, a diva (soprano)
• Party guests, servants, dancers, entertainers