This Is London 11 Nov

Christine Rice as Giulietta, Vittorio Grigolo as Hoffman.
THE TALES OF HOFFMAN
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
No really definitive version of The Tales
of Hoffmann exists. Offenbach died a year
before its first performance in 1881 and it
was completed by his close friend Ernest
Guirard. It has, give or take a tweak here
and there, become the standard version
for most of the world’s big opera houses
and was used by director John
Schlesinger in his celebrated 1980
staging for Covent Garden. After 36 years
in the Garden’s repertory, these are its
final performances.
Based on some of poet E.T.A.
Hoffmann’s ‘fantastic’ short stories, Jules
Barbier and Michel Carre’s ’s libretto
tells of the doomed love affairs
Hoffmann has with Stella, an opera diva,
Olympia, a mechanical doll, Giulietta a
Venetian courtesan, and, finally, a young
consumptive would-be singer called
Antonia. Making sure none of his affairs
succeed is Hoffmann’s nemesis:
Councillor Lindorf, who also appears in
the guise of Coppelius, Dapertutto and
Dr. Miracle – traditionally all sung by
the same bass-baritone.
It has to be said that the current
revival, by Daniel Donner, while
remaining true to Schlesinger’s very
traditional concept, is definitely
showing its age – especially in William
Dudley’s sets which look decidedly
frayed at the edges.
The sparkle, wit and invention of the
Olympia story was a bit flat on the
opening night – champagne without the
bubbles. The debauchery of the Giulietta
Photo: Catherine Ashmore.
act, set in a Venetian palazzo is still
quite striking visually, but pretty tame by
today’s permissive standards, while the
final Antonia sequence, set in a gloomstrewn
house in Munich is dark not only
in content but also in appearance. It’s
the act that most shows its age.
Musically, though, this revival does
justice to Offenbach’s bewitching score
and, as its doomed protagonist, the Italian
tenor Vittorio Grigolio’s impassioned,
lyrically sung, Hoffmann is a joy.
Sofia Fomina as the mechanical doll
Olympia doesn’t quite nail the fiendishly
difficult coloratura doll song, and
veteran Thomas Hampson who takes on
the quartet of villains, has lost some of
his vocal sheen and sturdiness. Still, he
remains a master of characterisation.
In the last and most operatic of all
he acts Sonya Yoncheva is a – glorious
Antonia, the final trio being one of the
many highlights of the evening.
Giving the most vocally assured
performance of all, though is Catherine
Price as the courtesan Giulietta. Her
seduction of the smitten Hoffman and the
love duet that follows were absolutely
thrilling. Impressive too was Kate Lindsey
as Hoffmann’s poetry muse, disguised as
his companion Nicklausse.
The Royal Opera’s orchestra and
chorus under conductor Evelino Pido –
whose commitment to every bar of this
miraculous score is evident from the
opening chords – is testament that this
musically accomplished revival is a treat
more for the the ears than the eyes.
CLIVE HIRSCHHORN
t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e
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