Study Guide
Study Guide Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Beginner's Guide to Opera
- Who's Who At the Opera
- The Lyric Opera House
- BOC Education Programs
- A Bibliography of Selected Readings
- Education Resources
2007-2008 SEASON
2006-2007 SEASON
2005-2006 SEASON
2004-2005 SEASON
2003-2004 SEASON
2002-2003 SEASON
PREVIOUS OPERAS
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
The Tales of Hoffmann
Fantastic Opera in Five Acts
Music - Jacques Offenbach
b. 20 June 1819, Cologne
d. 5 October 1880, Paris
Libretto - Jules Barbier, based on the play by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré (1851), in turn based on several tales by E.T.A. Hoffmann, in particular Der Sandman (1816), Rat Krespel (1818), and Die Abendteuer der Silvester-Nacht (1815)
Composed 1877-80
Premiere: 10 February 1881, Opéra-Comique, Paris
U.S. Premiere: 16 October 1882, Fifth Avenue Theater, New York
Principal characters:
Hoffmann (tenor) (OFF-mahn) - a poet
Olympia (soprano) (oh-LAM-pee-a) - a mechanical doll built by a genius inventor
Antonia (soprano) (ahn-TOH-nee-a) - a seriously ill girl
Giulietta (soprano) (jhoo-lee-EH-tah) - a Venetian courtesan
Stella (soprano) - a diva with whom Hoffmann is in love
Nicklausse (mezzo-soprano) (NEE-clouse) - Hoffmann's friend
Lindorf/Coppélius/Dr. Miracle/Dappertutto (baritone) - the villains who plot against Hoffmann
Les Contes d'Hoffmann (les cohntz DOFE-mahn) takes place in Germany and Italy during the 19th century.