Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67943 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-10-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

From Amazon.com
This is not quite the most controversial opera video recording of our time (that title would probably go to Valery Gergiev's 1993 Kirov production of Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel), but it is a strong contender. It has, in one package, two tendencies that give special creative tensions to opera production in our time: the musicians' imperative for fidelity to the composer's intentions, and the stage director's impulse to use the story, characters, sets, costumes, etc., as springboards for his own creative imagination.

Jacques Offenbach's last opera (his only grand opera) is specially vulnerable to such tensions because he died before finishing it. Musically, some of the opera's best-loved moments (notably the bass aria "Scintille, diamant") were cobbled together (using melodic material from other Offenbach works) after Offenbach's death. This production, the first video recording based on the new, critical performing score prepared by musicologist Michael Kaye, omits those beloved, spurious numbers. They are missed, but it's hard to complain about the omission of inauthentic material. In any case, conductor Kent Nagano has assembled a superb cast that does the music full vocal justice--most notably Natalie Dessay, Gabriel Bacquier, and Jose Van Dam.

While Nagano works hard to respect Offenbach's intentions, stage director Louis Erlo runs roughshod over them, so much so that at Kaye's suggestion the production's title was changed from The Tales of Hoffmann to Some Tales of Hoffmann. Offenbach's original treatment takes place in four European cities where Hoffmann fights the same implacable enemy through one doomed love affair after another. In this production, the locale shrinks to one location--a symbol-infested mental hospital. This fits the feverish, surreal atmosphere of E.T.A. Hoffmann's stories and Offenbach's imaginative musical treatment, but many patrons have found the staging offensive--as is their right. I find it often stimulating, but I would not want it to be the only Hoffmann on my shelf. --Joe McLellan

Video Details
The highlight of the inaugural week of Jean Nouval's new opera house in Lyon was the premiere of "Tales of Hoffmann." Inspired by Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" and freely based on the performing edition by leading American musicologist Michael Kaye, this production is far removed from its familiar settings. Hoffmann--poet, musician and philosopher--finds himself trapped in some kind of infernal huis clos, surrounded by mutant incarnations of the men and women who have been instrumental in his moral and creative decline. Insanity, drunkenness or nightmare? Daniel Galvez-Vallejo, a young French tenor of Spanish descent, makes a striking impression in the title role. The four villains are portrayed by the peerless Belgian bass-baritone Jose van Dam, and the legendary Gabriel Bacquier plays Spalanzani, Crespel and Schlemil with veteran aplomb.

From the Back Cover
The highlight of the inaugural week of Jean Nouvel's new opera house in Lyon was the premiere of Des Contes d'Hoffmann, conceived by the Opira de Lyon. Inspired by Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann and freely based on the performing edition by leading American musicologist Michael Kaye, this production is far removed from the familiar settings of Luther's tavern and Olympia's salon. Hoffmann--poet, musician, and philosopher--finds himself trapped in some kind of infernal huis clos, surrounded by mutant incarnations of the men and women who have been instrumental in his moral and creative decline. Insanity, drunkenness, or nightmare? Hoffmann's delirium becomes tangible in the imposing set designed by Phillippe Starck.

Lyon has brought together a formidable cast for this production, wtih Daniel Galvez-Vallejo, a young French tenor of Spanish descent, making a striking impression in the title role. The four villains are portrayed by the peerless Belgian bass-baritone Josi van Dam and the legendary Gabriel Bacquier plays Spalanzani, Crespel, and Schlemil with veteran aplomb.

Daniel Galvez-Vallejo, Josi van Dam, Gabriel Bacquier, Jacques Verzier, Natalie Dessay, Barbara Hendricks, Isabelle Vernet, Brigitte Balleys, Helene Jossoud, Lisette Malidor. Chorus of the Lyon Opera, Orchestra of the Lyon Opera, musical director Kent Nagano, directed by Louis Erlo, video director Pierre Cavassilas. 120 minutes.