A scene from Act I of Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
The Metropolitan Opera opens the 18th Season of Live in HD productions with Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann on October 5. This award-winning series brings some of the Company’s finest performances to opera lovers worldwide in more than 1,800 cinemas.
This staging by Bartlett Sher stars tenor Benjamin Bernheim in his company debut in the title role, with soprano Erin Morley as Olympia, soprano Pretty Yende as Antonia and Stella, mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains – all making their Met role debuts – and mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya appears as Nicklausse and the Muse in her Met debut. Marco Armiliato leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Nicklausse, Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann, and Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
Offenbach’s opéra fantastique is a tribute to the German Romantic author, composer and poet, E T A Hoffmann who was well known for his stories in which supernatural and sinister characters moved in and out of men’s lives. It is based on a play by Jules Barbier (who wrote the original libretto) and Michel Carré, and is a sequence of three short stories by Hoffmann, telling of a fruitless search for love, with the real life Hoffmann as its main character.
The German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach became world famous for his operettas during his lifetime – lightweight comedies featuring many popular melodies which have retained their popularity even today. He nevertheless longed to become well known for more serious operas, and his hope was that Les contes d’Hoffmann – which he began writing in 1877 – would achieve this ambition. As it happened, the opera did, but Offenbach died in 1880 while the production was still in rehearsal. The premiere took place at the Opéra-Comique on 10th February, 1881.
Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann, Christian Van Horn as Coppélius, and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Nicklausse in a scene from Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
In the Prologue, Hoffmann is waiting in a tavern for his lover, prima donna La Stella. Accompanied by his friend Nicklausse, he is encouraged to talk of his previous loves – Olympia, a mechanical doll, whom Hoffmann believed to be human, the plagued Antonia who danced to her death, and Venetian seductress Giulietta who vanishes. Hoffmann falls into a deep sleep, La Stella returns, and disappointed in him, goes off with Nicklausse. Hoffmann, realising what has happened, is left completely alone.
Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann in a scene from Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
French tenor Benjamin Bernheim’s most recent appearance was at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Said by the Süddeutsche Zeitung to have “The most beautiful tenor voice since Luciano Pavarotti”, Mr Bernheim is a regular guest artist at Europe’s leading opera houses, and has recently made his role debut as Ruggero Lastouc in Puccini’s La Rondine at Opernhaus Zürich, has sung the role of Hoffmann at Opéra national de Paris, taken the title role in Massenet’s Werther at both Opernhaus Zürich and Teatro alla Scala, and made a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
Erin Morley as Olympia, Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann, and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (background) as Nicklausse in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
Coloratura soprano Erin Morley revisits the Met with one of her signature roles, Olympia. Following a performance in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos at Theatre La Fenice, Rivista Musica wrote: “The triumph of the evening was Erin Morley’s Zerbinetta, who sings with the suppleness of a true virtuoso”. Following these performances of Les contes d’Hoffman, she will perform in recital at the Wigmore Hall in London, with the Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam and will return to the Met to sing Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto.
Pretty Yende as Antonia and Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
With “A voice that can reach to the stars” (Washington Post), South African soprano Pretty Yende returns to the Met to portray Antonia and Stella. She will then make her debut in Puccini’s La Rondine at Monte-Carlo Opera, appear in concert with the Vienna Staatsoper, where she’ll also appear in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and will sing the title role in Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment at Bayerische Staatsopera in Munich.
Christian Van Horn as Dapertutto and Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine, who appears as Giulietta, has performed the title role of Bizet’s Carmen in three Met seasons. Following a recent performance of the opera, Bachtrack wrote: “Margaine sang with a deep, rich mezzo, her diction clear and perfect. She oozed sexiness and contempt. Hers is certainly a Carmen to watch …”. Ms Margaine has also appeared at opera houses such as the Opéra national de Paris, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Colón, Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma, Grand Théâtre de Genève andTeatro di San Carlo. During this 2024-25 season she will also perform in Meyerbeer’s La Prophète in Berlin, and will make her role debut as Amneris in Verdi’s Aïda in Barcelona.
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Nicklausse, Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann, and Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya makes her company debut in the double role of the Muse and Hoffmann’s friend Nicklausse. Among previous performances are those of Corinna in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival and Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Arena di Verona Opera Festival. During this current season, Ms Berzhanskaya will take the role of Preziosilla in Verdi’s La forza del destino at Teatro alla Scala, that of Adalgisa in Puccini’s Norma at Vienna Staatsoper and Angelina in Rossini’s Cenerentola at Bavarian State Opera.
Pretty Yende as Antonia and Christian Van Horn as Dr. Miracle in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn makes his Met role debut as the Four Villains, following successful performances as a soloist during the Met Orchestra’s first tour to Asia last summer. This season he will make his debut at the Vienna State Opera in the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and will return to the Paris Opera in Les contes d’Hoffman, to the Metropolitan Opera in Puccini’s La bohème, the Bayersiche Staatstoper in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and the Philadelphia Opera in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra.
The Four Servants will be sung by tenor Aaron Blake who has earned international recognition for the role of Timothy Laughlin in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers.
This Live in HD performance of Les contes d’Hoffmann will be directed by Gary Halvorson, and the transmission will be hosted by tenor Ben Bliss. Bliss will also star in the upcoming transmission of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded on October 19.
Further information for this performance can be found on the Metropolitan Opera website where details of the complete Live in HD season can be found, as well as the location of the cinemas where they’ll be screened.
Information sourced from:
Metropolitan Opera program notes
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Artists’ websites
Leave a Reply